APRIL 29, 2010 • With many questions regarding the future viability of its Call of Duty franchise Activision Blizzard secured distribution rights to the expected high-profile titles developed by Bungie, LLC. for 10 years. The latter retains all rights to its intellectual property. The deal is reminiscent of the profitable arrangement Activision had with id Software for many years. Bungie is best know for having created Halo, which became the signature title for the Xbox platform.

Impact: The Activision business model is constructed around hit franchises that can sustain annual installments. With its Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk series showing softness, and Call of Duty somewhat in question, something else was needed. While it was likely costly to sign Bungie, Activision desperately needed the kind of quality the former is known for.