Activision Blizzard Buys 'Candy Crush' Maker King for $5.9B

Video game maker Activision Blizzard has acquired Candy Crush creator King in a $5.9 billion deal.

The combined company will reach more than half a billion monthly active users in 196 countries. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says he has "long admired King for consistently creating incredibly fun, deeply engaging free-to-play games that capture the imaginations of players across ages and demographics."

Together, Activision Blizzard and King will have a portfolio with top-grossing mobile games (Candy Crush Saga), as well as successful console (Call of Duty) and PC (World of Warcraft) titles.

"Activision Blizzard will provide King with experience, support and investment to continue to build on their tremendous legacy and reach new potential," Kotick said.

"We will combine our expertise in mobile and free-to-play with Activision Blizzard's world-class brands and proven track record of building and sustaining the most successful franchises, to bring the best games in the world to millions of players worldwide," King CEO Riccardo Zacconi said.

King will operate as an independent unit led by Zacconi, Chief Creative Officer Sebastian Knutsson, and Chief Operating Officer Stephane Kurgan.

Though King's Candy Crush is undoubtedly a massive hit, the company has struggled since its disappointing 2014 IPO. As The Wall Street Journal noted earlier this year, King posted weak revenue as it tried to create another game as successful as Candy Crush.

During a May earnings call, Zacconi said "the final and most important pillar of [our franchise operating] model is the development and launch of new franchise apps as we did with Candy Crush Soda and Bubble Witch 2." At the time, he tipped "new titles for all four franchises and...at least three new franchise apps by the end of 2016."

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Rival Rovio has had similar trouble finding a follow-up as successful as Angry Birds.

Activision, meanwhile, is gearing up for BlizzCon and the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, not to mention StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void.

Mobile developers will soon have more competition. Nintendo last week unveiled Miitomo, its first free-to-play title built specifically for smartphones and tablets.