Studio to Focus on Music-Based Games SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 12
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Further
strengthening its development resources and underscoring its commitment to the
music-based genre, Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced
that it has acquired FreeStyleGames, a premier U.K.-based video game developer
specializing in music-based games.
This acquisition represents the latest step in Activision Publishing's
strategy to expand its global leadership position in the music-based genre.
The company established the genre with the Guitar Hero(R) franchise, which has
sold in excess of 22 million units worldwide, according to The NPD Group,
Charttrack and GFK. FreeStyleGames is currently developing localized
downloadable content for the Guitar Hero franchise, as well as a yet to be
announced new, intellectual property in the music genre.
"Activision Publishing is the undisputed leader in the music-based games
and we see tremendous opportunity for continued growth, particularly in
Europe," said Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc.
"An important part of our European growth strategy is to work with local
developers and provide music content that resonates with the market.
FreeStyleGames has an award-winning team with a history of developing
innovative and creative music-based games and they are uniquely positioned to
help us expand our leadership in the genre."
"This is an exciting time for our company and great recognition of our
success to date that Activision Publishing would look to welcome us to their
studio roster," said Jamie Jackson of FreeStyleGames. "Our goal has always
been to deliver the most compelling entertainment experiences, and with the
infrastructure, support and financial resources of Activision Publishing, we
will be able to set our goals even higher than they are today."
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, FreeStyleGames has become a
wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Publishing and the company's management
team has signed long-term employment contracts with Activision Publishing. The
studio will continue to be based in Leamington Spa, U.K. Financial terms of
the agreement were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is
a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive
entertainment and leisure products.
Activision Publishing maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands,
Australia, Japan and South Korea.
More information about Activision Publishing and its products can be found
on the company's website, http://www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this
press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans,
intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements
that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties.
Activision Publishing generally uses words such as "outlook", "will," "could,"
"would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes", "may", "expects,"
"intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned,"
"potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to,"
"upcoming" and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future
results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales of
Activision Publishing's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the
seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision
Publishing's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware
platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing,
product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of
Activision Publishing's products, adoption rate and availability of new
hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in
technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights,
litigation against Activision Publishing, maintenance of relationships with
key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and
international economic, financial and political conditions and policies,
foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the
identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision
Blizzard's success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and
Vivendi Games, and Activision Publishing's success in integrating the
operations of Activision Publishing and FreeStyleGames, in a timely manner, or
at all, and the combined companies' ability to realize the anticipated
benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe,
anticipated. Other such factors include additional risk factors identified in
Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any
subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in
this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and
Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision
Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true
when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not
guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision
Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of
which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially
from current expectations.
SOURCE Activision Publishing
