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 Vivendi Universal Games' headquarters at 6080 Center Drive inLos Angeles in 2001 | |
| Formerly |
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|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | July 24, 1996; 29 years ago (1996-07-24) inTorrance,California |
| Defunct | July 10, 2008; 17 years ago (2008-07-10) |
| Fate | Merged with and folded intoActivision |
| Successor | Activision Blizzard |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | North America, Europe |
Key people | Bruce Hack (CEO) |
| Parent |
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Vivendi Games was an Americanvideo game publisher andholding company based inLos Angeles. It was founded in 1996 as CUC Software, the publishing subsidiary ofCUC International, after the latter acquired video game companiesDavidson & Associates andSierra On-Line. Between 1997 and 2001, the company switchedparents and names multiple times before ending up organized underVivendi Universal (later renamed Vivendi). On July 10, 2008, Vivendi Games merged withActivision to createActivision Blizzard.
On February 21, 1996,CUC International announced its intention to acquireDavidson & Associates (includingBlizzard Entertainment) andSierra On-Line, two American video game companies, in aUS$1.8 billionstock swap.[1] The deal closed on July 24, 1996.[2] CUC International previously only operated membership shopping clubs, wherefore analysts were surprised by the company's move into thesoftware industry.[1]
Subsequently, following the acquisitions, CUC International established CUC Software around theTorrance, California-based operations of Davidson & Associates to oversee the new video game properties.[3] Under that new umbrella, both Davidson & Associates and Sierra On-Line would act independently from CUC International.[4] Bob Davidson, co-founder of Davidson & Associates, becamechairman andchief executive of the new establishment.[5] On November 5 that year, CUC International announced that they would additionally acquireKnowledge Adventure, another developer, in a stock deal valued between$50 million andUS$100 million.[5] The acquisition was completed on February 3, 1997.[3] On February 10, Davidson announced that he had stepped down from his positions at CUC Software, and that his wife, Jan, ceased aspresident of Davidson & Associates, while both Davidsons stayed on CUC International'sboard of directors.[3] Christopher McLeod, anexecutive vice-president for CUC International, took over CUC Software in Bob Davidson's place.[3] In April 1997, CUC International acquiredBerkeley Systems for an undisclosed sum.[6]
On May 28, 1997, CUC International announced plans to merge withHospitality Franchise Systems to create a single, "one-stop" entity.[7][8] The merger was finalized in December that year and createdCendant.[9] As a result of the merger, CUC Software was renamed Cendant Software.[10]
On November 20, 1998, French media companyHavas (acquired byVivendi earlier that year) announced that it would acquire Cendant Software for$800 million in cash, with up to an additional$200 million contingent on its performance.[11][12][13] Subsequently, the division was renamedHavas Interactive.[14]
On May 16, 2001, Havas Interactive was renamedVivendi Universal Interactive Publishing, after Havas itself became Vivendi Universal Publishing months prior.[15][16] The new name was likely due to the merger betweenUniversal and Vivendi; the company also received ownership of properties fromUniversal Interactive Studios. Under the new name, the company was split into two parts: Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing North America and Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing International, both of which took responsibility for their respective publishing regions.[15] On November 13, 2001, both parts were streamlined under the nameVivendi Universal Games.[17] This new company was placed directly under Vivendi Universal after Vivendi Universal Publishing was sold off.[18]
When Vivendi Universal sold all of its media operations toGeneral Electric in October 2003, Vivendi Universal still held on to Vivendi Universal Games.[19] On March 3, 2006, with the sale completed, Vivendi Universal announced they would be dropping the "Universal" part of their name.[20] The same day, the company opened amobile games division known as Vivendi Universal Games Mobile.[21]
In December 2007, American publisherActivision announced a proposed merger deal with Vivendi Games that would create a newholding company namedActivision Blizzard.[22][23] The deal was approved by Activision'sshareholders on July 8, 2008,[23] and the merger was finalized on July 10, creating Activision Blizzard while dissolving Vivendi Games.[24] Bruce Hack, who served aschief executive officer of Vivendi Games, becamevice-chairman and chief corporate officer of the new company.[24] Many of Vivendi Games' properties were later dropped by Activision, citing that they would not make for a good fit for the company's long-term strategy.[25]
| Name | Founded or acquired | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Davidson & Associates | July 24, 1996 | [26] |
| Blizzard Entertainment | [a] | |
| Sierra Entertainment | [28] | |
| Coktel Vision | [b] | |
| Knowledge Adventure | February 1997 | [29][30] |
| Berkeley Systems | April 1997 | [6] |
| Universal Interactive | June 2000[c] | [31][32] |
| NDA Productions | March 2002 | [33][34] |
| Black Label Games | August 2002 | [35][36] |
| Massive Entertainment | October 2002 | [37][38] |
| Fox Interactive | March 2003[d] | [39] |
| Radical Entertainment | March 2005 | [40][41] |
| Swordfish Studios | June 2005 | [42] |
| High Moon Studios | January 2006 | [43] |
| Vivendi Games Mobile | March 2006 | [44] |
| Centerscore | September 2006 | [45][46] |
| Wanako Games | February 2007 | [47][48][49] |
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