Editing Activision (section)

{{short description|American video game publisher}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Activision Publishing, Inc.
| logo = [[File:Activision.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert]]
| image = 2701 Olympic Boulevard.jpg
| image_caption = Current headquarters in Santa Monica in 2025 (shared with Activision Blizzard)
| former_name = {{Unbulleted list|Computer Arts, Inc.|(1979)|Activision, Inc.|(1979–1988; 1992–2000)|Mediagenic|(1988–1992)}}
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| industry = [[Video game industry|Video games]]
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1979|10|01}}
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|[[David Crane (programmer)|David Crane]]|[[Alan Miller (game designer)|Alan Miller]]|[[Bob Whitehead]]|[[Jim Levy]]}}
| hq_location = 2701 Olympic Blvd
| hq_location_city = [[Santa Monica, California]]
| hq_location_country = US
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap|Rob Kostich ([[President (corporate title)|president]])<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2019/gaming/news/activision-blizzard-exec-shuffle-appoints-new-heads-of-activision-king-emerging-business-1203103289/ |title=Activision Blizzard Exec Shuffle Appoints New Heads of Activision, King, Emerging Business |first1=Brian |last1=Crecente |date=January 9, 2019 |website=variety.com |access-date=January 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109173033/https://variety.com/2019/gaming/news/activision-blizzard-exec-shuffle-appoints-new-heads-of-activision-king-emerging-business-1203103289/ |archive-date=January 9, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>|Josh Taub ([[Chief operating officer|COO]])<ref name="activision about us">{{cite web |url=https://www.activision.com/en/company/aboutus |title=About Us |year=2022 |publisher=Activision |access-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-date=November 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128035230/https://www.activision.com/en/company/aboutus |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| products = [[List of Activision video games]]
| parent = {{Unbulleted list|Activision, Inc.|(2000–2008)|[[Activision Blizzard]]|(2008–present)}}
| subsid = See {{section link||Studios}}
|website = {{URL|https://www.activision.com/|activision.com}}
| footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=About Activision Publishing |url=https://www.activision.com/company/aboutus |website=www.activision.com |publisher=Activision Publishing |access-date=August 17, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920233518/http://www.activision.com/company/aboutus |archive-date=September 20, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/718877/000104746914001688/0001047469-14-001688-index.htm |title=Activision Blizzard, Inc. 2013 Annual Report Form (10-K) |publisher=United States Securities and Exchange Commission |format=XBRL |date=March 3, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407061826/http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/718877/000104746914001688/0001047469-14-001688-index.htm |archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref>
}}
'''Activision Publishing, Inc.''' is an American [[video game publisher]] based in [[Santa Monica, California]]. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, [[Activision Blizzard]], and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world and was the top United States publisher in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-25-companies-game-revenues/ |title=Top 25 Companies by Game Revenues |website=newzoo.com |access-date=January 12, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306074425/https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-25-companies-game-revenues/ |archive-date=March 6, 2017}}</ref><!--In this context, 'third party' means parties other than the consumer and the platform manufacturer. Note the discussion of this under 'history,' below.-->

The company was founded as '''Activision, Inc.''' on October 1, 1979, in [[Sunnyvale, California]], by former [[Atari, Inc.|Atari]] game developers upset at their treatment by Atari in order to develop their own games for the popular [[Atari 2600]] home video game console. Activision was the first independent, third-party, console video game developer. The [[video game crash of 1983]], in part created by too many new companies trying to follow in Activision's footsteps without the experience of Activision's founders, hurt Activision's position in console games and forced the company to diversify into games for home computers, including the acquisition of [[Infocom]]. After a management shift, with CEO [[Jim Levy]] replaced by [[Bruce Davis (video game industry)|Bruce Davis]], the company renamed itself to '''Mediagenic''' and branched out into business software applications. Mediagenic quickly fell into debt, and the company was bought for around {{USD|500,000}} by [[Bobby Kotick]] and a small group of investors around 1991.

Kotick drastically revamped and restructured the company to get it out of debt: dismissing most of its staff, moving the company to Los Angeles, and reverting to the Activision name. Building on existing assets, the Kotick-led Activision pursued more publishing opportunities and, after recovering from its former financial troubles, started acquiring numerous studios and various types of [[intellectual property]] over the 1990s and 2000s, among these being the ''[[Call of Duty]]'' and ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' series. A [[holding company]] was formed as Activision's parent company to manage both its internal and acquired studios. In 2008, this holding company merged with [[Vivendi Games]] (the parent company of [[Blizzard Entertainment]]) and formed Activision Blizzard, with Kotick as its CEO. Within this structure, Activision manages numerous third-party studios and publishes all games besides those created by Blizzard. In October 2023, [[Microsoft]] [[Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft|acquired]] parent company Activision Blizzard, maintaining that the company would continue to operate as a separate business. While part of the larger [[Microsoft Gaming]] division, Activision retains its function as the publisher of games developed by their studios.