Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard

Basic information
Founded	2008-07-09
Legal Structure	Public
Industry	Video game publishing, Video game development
Also known as	ABK, Acti-Blizz
Official website	https://activisionblizzard.com

Activision Blizzard, Inc., often referred to as ABK (Activision-Blizzard-King), or Acti-Blizz, is an American video-game holding company. On 13 October 2023, Microsoft acquired ABK for $68.7 billion.

Activision Blizzard currently includes five business units:

• Activision Publishing
• Blizzard Entertainment
• King
• Major League Gaming
• Activision Blizzard Studios

Consumer-impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):

• User Freedom
• User Privacy
• Business Model
• Market Control

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Incidents

Starcraft II not including LAN play (2009)

In 2009, it was announced that Star Craft 2 would not include local area network (LAN) multiplayer. This came as a shock since LAN play had been a staple of Blizzard's multiplayer games. Blizzard would justify the decision by stating that using their Battle.net service would be the preferred way to play.

Diablo III Always-On DRM (2011) and Error 37 (2012)

In August 2011, Blizzard confirmed that Diablo III would require an internet connection to be played even if users wanted to opt out of the multiplayer components.

At launch, many players were unable to play game and received Error 37 which indicated that the servers were busy.

Removing access to MWII(2022) and MWIII(2023) through the Call of Duty HQ (2025)

This section is incomplete. This notice can be deleted once all the placeholder text has been replaced.

Overwatch 2 and PvE (2024)

Overwatch was promised player-versus-environment (PvE) content in Overwatch 2, but this feature was eventually cancelled in 2024, after people had already purchased Overwatch 2. This was never really addressed or compensated for.^{[citation needed (21 April 2026)]}

Account lock and forced arbitration (2024)

Main article: Activision Blizzard account lock and forced arbitration

Activision Blizzard blocked access to Blizzard services, requiring customers to accept forced arbitration terms in the updated Blizzard end-user license agreement (EULA).

Termination of Blizzard's contract with NetEase (2023)

Mainland China lost access to Blizzard's main titles for over a year as a result of licensing agreements going unmet. Following this Overwatch was review-bombed on Steam and, eventually, acquired by Microsoft Gaming.

Call of Duty selling AI-generated content (2024 & 2025)

An example of one of the paid AI-generated loading screens for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

In late 2024, Activision introduced multiple pieces of content to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 that were AI-generated. This content was additionally paywalled, which further upset fans online. It was not originally disclosed to consumers that this content was in-fact AI-generated, and it was not until Valve changed Steam's disclosure policies that it was confirmed publicly that this content was generated using AI software.

Activision released Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in late 2025 that contains generative AI in the product. A prominent example of this is the backgrounds for the in-game calling cards, which display art that clearly has been trained on Studio Ghibli's animation style and contains the usual errors such as extra digits. A user on X claimed that they were able to refund their copy on Steam despite having completed the campaign, citing a lack of disclosure as to the pervasive usage of AI in the game. For its part, Activision had the required Steam disclaimer on the store listing.

H2M mod bait and switch (2024)

On 15 August 2024, the Twitter account for the creators of the H2 Multiplayer Mod (a fan-made mod for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered) announced they had received and were complying with a cease and desist order on behalf of Activision effective immediately. This occurred on the day before the mod was supposed to be released. Weeks prior, Activision put Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered on sale on Steam in order to drive sales in anticipation of the mod's release, as possessing a licensed copy of the game was a prerequisite in order for the mod to function. Fans immediately derided the move as a deliberately timed act, subsequently mass refunding and review bombing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered on Steam in protest of the C&D.

Micro-transaction (MTX) overload

Main article: Downloadable content#DLC overload

Activision is well-known for its excessive usage of micro-transactions, with $1.34B in Q1 2021, and further peaks, such as $5.1B in 2022. It is clear that Activision is highly incentivized to generate as much revenue via micro-transactions, going so far as to contribute to the detriment of the games according to fans. The cosmetics seen inside Black Ops 6 are reported to be the most distracting in the franchise to-date.

Blizzard is additionally not innocent of pumping their content with MTX, with one of the most egregious examples being Overwatch 2. The micro-transactions among this game has sparked controversy among the community as well. Other Blizzard IPs are also not safe from this either, such as WarCraft, Diablo, and StarCraft.

Products and franchises

• Call of Duty (Activision)
• Crash Bandicoot (Activision)
• Guitar Hero (Activision)
• Skylanders (Activision)
• Spyro the Dragon (Activision)
• Tony Hawk's (series) (Activision)
• Diablo (series) (Blizzard)
• Hearthstone (Blizzard)
• Heroes of the Storm (Blizzard)
• Overwatch (Blizzard)
• StarCraft (Blizzard)
• WarCraft (Blizzard)
• Candy Crush Saga (King)

Patents

Patent	Name	Summary Of Invention	Consumer Related Drawback
US20160005270A1	System and method for driving microtransactions in multiplayer video games	The patent lays the ground for a dynamically adjusting matchmaking system to ensure a positive experience for players in order to increase microtransactions.	This patent includes a method to check quality factors such as facial expressions, body language, or "other observable metrics related to gameplay" in real time. That includes access to connected cameras like webcams. This clearly violates the consumer's privacy, especially without dedicated notice of such practices as in presumably Call of Duty Black Ops 6. Source video, needs solid verification of loaded DLLs How to list DLLs
US11896905B2	Methods and systems for continuing to execute a simulation after processing resources go offline	To simulate gameplay of NPCs, the system may identify end user devices (e.g., gaming consoles, personal computers, smartphones, etc.) that are connected to the system through a network and are available to participate in a simulated NPC gameplay session.	This patent essentially describes how a botnet is created in the consumer's network, which is outright stealing resources to train the company's NPC AI — even after closing the game. Further misuse of affected network devices is very well possible, thanks to unclear language like "an agent [...] may program one or more physical processors of end user device[s]". This seems to be already happening with Call of Duty Black Ops 6. The game is reported to still run in the background even after closing it. You need to use the Windows task manager on PC to fully close the game's process. There are also tutorials online on how to completely close the game on console.

See also

• Electronic Arts
• Ubisoft