Activision Blizzard
In November 2015, Activision Blizzard announced its plans to acquire King for $5.9 billion. Upon announcement of the news, "USA Today" reported that the deal "gives Activision immediate access to the growing mobile gaming audience, the fastest-rising sector in video games". On 23 February 2016, Activision Blizzard closed its acquisition of King for a deal of $5.9 billion. Activision Blizzard as a result operates the world's largest game network, reaching around 500 million users in 196 countries. About the King acquisition, the CEO of Activision Blizzard explained that "we see great opportunities to create new ways for audiences to experience their favorite franchises, from "Candy Crush" to "World of Warcraft" to "Call of Duty" and more, across mobile devices, consoles and personal computers."