bobbykotickceo

[bobbykotickceo]

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Players Receive Free Next-Gen Upgrade

Last week, Activision Publishing, Inc. announced a free upgrade to next gen consoles for fans who purchase a digital version of the upcoming Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare game.  Designed to ensure a smooth transition from current gen consoles to next gen devices, the free upgrade offer will be available to both Xbox and PlayStation players.

To qualify for the free upgrade, players must purchase a digital copy of the game by March 30, 2015.  The upgrade offer does not apply to physical game copies. All multiplayer statistics will transfer over to the next gen console, as well as all DLC purchased for in-game use, as long as players’ Xbox Gamertags or PSN IDs, remain the same.

The latest title in the wildly popular Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare launches worldwide on November 4.

[bobbykotickceo]

Activision Publishing Launches Skylanders Trap Team™

On October 5, 2014, the latest installment in the top-selling Skylanders® franchise, Skylanders Trap Team™ launched at retail outlets across North America. The game is available for the Xbox 360™ and Xbox One™ video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 and PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment systems, Nintendo's Wii™ system, Nintendo's Wii U™ system, and a completely unique adventure is also available on the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system.

Skylanders Trap Team is already poised to become one of the top family games this holiday season having been named to three of the most sought after holiday lists -- Toys"R"Us’® the "Fabulous 15" 2014 Holiday Hot Toy List; Target’s Top Toys for the Holidays List and the Toy Insider's Hot 20 Holiday Toys of 2014.

Skylanders Trap Team lets fans seek out and defeat the most wanted villains in all of Skylands, and pull them out of the game and into living rooms by capturing them in magical Traps. Once they've defeated the villains, players are able to place a Trap into the new Traptanium PortalTM to capture them. Players can then send villains back into the game where they can play as them to fight for good, reversing the magic. They will also be able to hear the villains inside the Traps, an innovation that truly brings life to toys.

According to Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, “The Skylanders franchise was built on a foundation of creativity and innovation.  And with Skylanders Trap Team, we're taking that tradition of innovation to new heights. For the last three years we've allowed kids to bring their toys to life in a video game, and this year, we're letting them reach into the game, and pull characters out into the physical world by letting players trap and play as the villains. Skylanders Trap Team is also the first console game to simultaneously bring the entire AAA experience to tablet devices. Overall, we think Skylanders Trap Team represents our most magical innovation yet. But most importantly, it's just a great game."

[bobbykotickceo]

The Call of Duty Endowment’s Seal of Distinction

Since the Call of Duty Endowment was established by Activision Blizzard’s CEO Bobby Kotick in 2009, it has supported a range of nonprofit organizations focused on placing veterans in high quality careers.  

Last year, the Endowment partnered with Deloitte to create a unique annual Call of Duty Endowment ‘Seal of Distinction’ award program that recognizes those organizations that have proven to be the most effective and efficient at placing veterans into jobs.  Winners of the Seal of Distinction receive a $30,000 unrestricted grant, as well as the chance to secure additional funding to support their programs.

To qualify for the Seal of Distinction, organizations must retain nonprofit status and pursue a mission that assists unemployed veterans in their job searches. Candidates must provide documentation for their requested placements and submit their organizational data for analysis by Deloitte.

2013 winners of the Seal of Distinction include Hire Heroes USA, Corporate America Supports You, Hiring Our Heroes, and the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families.

[bobbykotickceo]

Activision Blizzard Supports the 100,000 Jobs Mission

Founded in 2009 by Activision Blizzard’s CEO, Bobby Kotick, the Call of Duty Endowment supports a broad range of nonprofit organizations that have a track record of placing veterans in high quality careers.   In addition to supporting the Call of Duty Endowment, earlier this year, Activision Blizzard joined 100,000 Jobs Mission, a coalition of companies that will attempt to hire more than 100,000 veterans by the year 2020. Since its inception in 2011, the mission has grown from just 11 companies to more than 170 organizations in nearly every major industry in the United States.

In addition to hiring veterans in meaningful positions, the 100,000 Jobs Mission sets out to increase levels of education and job preparedness among veterans. The organization works hard to connect veterans with educational benefits and help them understand civilian licenses and certifications. The 100,000 Jobs Mission also works closely with veterans with disabilities, assisting them as they secure benefits, accommodations, and places in entrepreneurship programs.

[bobbykotickceo]

Warlords of Draenor - the Upcoming World of Warcraft Expansion

Skylanders Trap Team videogame will launch on tablets day and date with the console version on  October 5, marking the first time a full Skylanders® game will be available on iPad®, Kindle Fire and Android tablets. The tablet version of the game will deliver the same experience with console-quality graphics and features with its own high performance controller. The tablet game’s Starter Pack will include a Bluetooth® Traptanium Portal™; an embedded Bluetooth® controller to provide the best gameplay experience possible; a built-in tablet stand; two Skylanders characters; two Traps and a display tray that lets Portal Masters keep track of the Traps they've collected and which villains they have trapped. The tablet version of Skylanders Trap Team upholds the same gameplay-driven adventure as the console version with console-quality graphics, including lush. Like the console version of the game, all of the Skylanders Trap Team toys will be cross-platform compatible between the console and tablets, with all skills and upgrades intact.

[bobbykotickceo]

Activision Lets Fans Sample New Releases at Gamescom 2014

Acclaimed video game publisher Sierra is back.   As part of Activision Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the SierraTM label’s focus will be on indie studios developing innovative, edgy and graphically unique games, including new IPs and contemporary re-imaginings of beloved Sierra classics. Headlining Sierra's slate of indie games is a new Geometry Wars™ game which is planned to launch this holiday season and an all-new King's Quest™ game which is expected to be released in 2015.  Additionally, the Sierra team is well underway exploring other indie projects to potentially launch later this year, and in 2015 and beyond. Geometry Wars3: Dimensions will bring three-dimensional gameplay and cooperative and competitive multiplayer gaming to the popular series for the first time. In addition to a full single-player campaign - Geometry Wars3: Dimensions features dynamic and persistent progression, which offers players a consistently new experience each time they play. The latest King’s Quest game, which is being developed by The Odd Gentleman, will appeal to fans of past games as well as new gamers, incorporating new adventures, challenging puzzles and an interactive narrative full of the signature humor of the series.

[bobbykotickceo]

Activision Opens Pre-Orders for New Skylanders Trap Team Character

Months ahead of the Skylanders Trap Team release date in early October, Activision announced a pre-order program that lets fans order the Trap Master Toy known as Gearshift. Available for pre-order at major retailers in North America, Gearshift is the latest character in the highly successful Toys-to-Life Skylanders series. Created by King Mercurus on the technology island of Metallana, Gearshift was raised as a princess, but preferred to spend her time working on huge, subterranean machines alongside the workers of the kingdom. Using The Great Gear, the emblem of her people, Gearshift drove off a squadron of Undead Stormriders and earned herself a place on the Trap Team. Skylanders Trap Team will reverse the action of the beloved video game franchise, allowing kids to bring life to toys for the first time. The game also comes with a Traptanium Portal, which sets the stage for epic battles between Skylanders characters and villains. Kids can even use their toys to embark on co-operative adventures with their friends.

[bobbykotickceo]

Profile Photos

[bobbykotickceo]

Activision and Bungie Launch Destiny Beta in Early 2014

In his role as president and chief executive officer of Activision Blizzard in Southern California, Bobby Kotick oversees some of the world’s best-selling videogames. In the first half of 2013, Activision Blizzard’s Skylanders Giants and Call of Duty: Black Ops II were the top sellers in North America and Europe. In 2014, Bobby Kotick plans to continue the company’s success with Destiny, a new game developed with Bungie, the creators of Halo. With Destiny, Activision and Bungie plan to revolutionize gaming. In a gigantic, player-populated universe filled with lushly imagined destinations throughout the solar system, players assume the role of Guardians who must protect the last city on Earth. The story-driven game incorporates cooperative and competitive tasks, as well as social activities, all of which meld into an immersive experience. Beginning in early 2014, the Destiny Beta will become available to a limited number of players who have preordered the game at a participating retailer. The Beta will allow qualified purchasers to experience a wide sample of tasks and adventures from the game.