Activision Blizzard to Venture into Film and TV
It looks like there’s no stopping Activision Blizzard’s expansion, as the videogame firm recently announced that they will soon move into producing films and TV shows based on their popular videogame properties.
On the heels of their $5.9 billion acquisition of King Digital, the game developer announced last Friday, Nov. 6, 2015 that it will be looking to produce a movie based on the Call of Duty franchise and a small screen adaptation of Skylanders.
The studio will be called Activision Blizzard Studios. In a press statement, Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, revealed that Nick Van Dyk will helm the newly formed production division of the company. He will co-lead with a yet unnamed senior creative executive.
Nick Van Dyk is a former Disney executive, best known for leading marketing strategy for the Walt Disney Entertainment company.
Skylanders, a game that integrates collectible toys into videogame mechanics, is slated to be completed first as an animated TV series. Attached to the project are the voice talents of Justin Long as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf and Jonathan Banks as Eruptor
Skylanders debuted in October 2011, generating at least $3 billion worth of sales for the Anaheim-based game developer.
“Activision Blizzard is home to some of the most successful entertainment franchises in history, across any medium. With the launch of Activision Blizzard Studios, our engaged fans can now watch the games they love come to life across film and television,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard in the same press release.
Call of Duty, the company’s widely-popular shooter franchise, is also headed for the silver screen. Once it drops, this would be Activision Blizzard’s second game-to-movie outing, next to WarCraft.
WarCraft, the movie, is slated for a June 10, 2016 release. WarCraft is produced by Legendary Entertainment.
Will Activision Blizzard go head-to-head against Disney and Marvel to create their own cinematic universe? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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