ACTIVISION’S CALL OF DUTY® WORLD LEAGUE MARKS NEW ERA FOR ESPORTS 

New Global eSports League Triples its Prize Pool to $3 million, Expands Competitive Opportunities for Pros and Amateurs Alike 

Call of Duty Championship Moved to Fall 2016 in Support of All-New Seasonal Structure The Arrival of Call of Duty: Black Ops III Will Mark the Deepest eSports In-Game Integration in Franchise History 

Sydney, Australia – September 25, 2015 – With the upcoming release of Call of Duty®: Black Ops III, the sequel to the best-selling series in Call of Duty® history, eSports is poised to expand to new audiences, while introducing new ways for fans of all skill levels to join the eSports movement. Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI),  and Call of Duty announced today the creation of the Call of Duty® World League, a worldwide eSports league by Activision in support of the #1 console eSports franchise, Call of Duty.  The new league marks an unprecedented commitment by Call of Duty and its dedicated eSports team to directly support the growing community of eSports fans. The program will provide a deeper level of engagement with the elite circuit of professional gamers, while also encouraging casual fans and aspiring competitors of Call of Duty to enjoy the thrill of competition across different skill levels.

“Call of Duty has always been about community, camaraderie and competition, which drives incredible engagement with the game all year long.  eSports allows us to deliver these moments to our fans whether they are playing the game themselves or cheering on those who are,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc.  “Three years ago, we held the first Call of Duty Championship to showcase the dedication and skill of Call of Duty players around the world. Since then, eSports has become a global phenomenon with more than 120 million people watching online competitive gaming each year and Call of Duty continues to lead as the top console eSports franchise in the world.”

Call of Duty World League

The Call of Duty World League will be comprised of two Divisions – The Pro Division and The Challenge Division – each of which will feed into the grand finale of the competitive Call of Duty season, and the biggest event in console eSports, the Call of Duty Championship. Professional Call of Duty teams in North America, Europe, and Australia & New Zealand will battle throughout the year in regional competition during The Pro Division regular season to earn their ticket to the Call of Duty Championship, and will compete for the largest seasonal cash prizes in Call of Duty to date.  The Call of Duty World League Pro Division kicks off competition in January 2016 in North America, Europe, and Australia & New Zealand.

The Challenge Division will provide a path for amateur and other aspiring pro players to compete with each other and enhance their competitive skills as well.  The winning teams in The Challenge Division will also earn a spot in the Call of Duty Championship by competing in a series of official LAN events.

“Treyarch’s passion for competitive gaming precedes Call of Duty: Black Ops II, a heritage that inspired us to introduce dedicated eSports features into the franchise and one that compelled us to push the boundaries of Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s offerings beyond anything we’ve delivered before,” said Mark Lamia, Treyarch studio head. “While our global fan base of players range from casual to professional, they all share a desire to compete – some at the highest levels. With Call of Duty: Black Ops III, we are introducing a series of new features, like Arena mode that not only accommodate that diversity of play styles, but also let players see how they stack up against one another. Treyarch is giving the community of Call of Duty players new ways to compete and enjoy the thrill of competition.”

Call of Duty Championship

For the first time in its history, the Call of Duty Championship will move from spring to fall, taking place in fall of 2016 to give players an extended amount of time to hone their competitive skills in Call of Duty: Black Ops III through competing in the Call of Duty World League regular season.

With the Pro and Challenge Divisions of the Call of Duty World League there is an unmatched level of series and tournament combined prizing available. There’s more than $3 million on the line between series payouts, LAN events, and the Call of Duty Championship, making it is the biggest total prize pool for Call of Duty eSports, and more than triple the previous prizing.

Activision has formed a team dedicated to launching and coordinating the Call of Duty World League, which will start with the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops III.  Further details including broadcast, personnel and partnerships will be released at a later date.  For more information on the Call of Duty World League, announcements about the Call of Duty Championship 2016 and other Call of Duty eSports news go to https://www.callofduty.com/esports.  Fans can also follow @eSportsCOD on Twitter. 

More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops III can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops3, on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Callofduty or on Twitter @Treyarch.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the Call of Duty® World League and its Divisions, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

# # #

ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS, and stylized roman numeral III are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.  All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

eSports features not supported on all platforms

‘THE WINGSUIT EXPERIENCE’ BROUGHT TO YOU BY JUST CAUSE 3, RELEASED TODAY FOR iOS & ANDROID WORLD’S FIRST IN-GAME 360-DEGREE VR VIDEO EXPERIENCE

We’re excited to announce the release of ‘THE WINGSUIT EXPERIENCE’ a 360 Degree VR app brought to you by JUST CAUSE 3, which is available today for free download to iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Join Rico Rodriguez as he skydives and wingsuits his way across the beautiful Mediterranean island of Medici. Using your smartphone’s gyrometer, the app offers the world’s first 360-degree in-game, interactive video experience, allowing you to freely move the camera to rotate the view of the world below.

The experience can be further intensified through use of Google Cardboard – and other VR goggles – which allows thrill-seekers to experience the app in VR, moving the camera viewpoint with your head as if you are flying in a Wingsuit behind Rico.

“In order to show the world of Just Cause 3 in 360-degrees, in-game, we’ve captured over 10 TB of high resolution data to bring you this experience,” explains Ron Bakker, founder of Mindlight, the developer of the Wingsuit Experience, “this will allow you to immerse yourself in the most explosive sandbox ever made, ahead of the game’s release this December.” 

THE WINGSUIT EXPERIENCE, brought to you by Just Cause 3 is available now on both the App Store, and the Android Store for free.

Apple store link:
https://itunes.apple.com//app/just-cause-3-wingsuit-experience/id997307920?ls=1&mt=8 

Android store link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.squareenix.jc3companion

Check out THE WINGSUIT EXPERIENCE trailer here – https://youtu.be/KGzkJjPbo8Q

JUST CAUSE 3, developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix, is due for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and high-end PCs December 1^st, 2015.

Related Links:

Official Homepage: justcause.com

Official Facebook® Page: facebook.com/JustCause

Official YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/JustCauseGame

Follow @JustCause on Twitter®: twitter.com/JustCause

George C. Romero And Free Reign Entertainment Release Open Beta for Survival Horror Game Romero’s Aftermath 

First Free-to-Win Massively Multiplayer Online Survival Horror Game Now Available for All to Play 

LOS ANGELES – September 24, 2015 – In a collaboration between horror film director George C. Romero and independent video game publisher Free Reign Entertainment, Romero’s Aftermath, the only free-to-win massively multiplayer online (MMO) survival horror game, releases today into Open Beta.  Players interested in testing their survival skills in Romero’s Aftermath can play for free by visiting and downloading from the game’s official website at https://www.willyousurvive.com/. The game is also available for download on Steam at http://store.steampowered.com/app/349700/.

“I’ve long been a fan of survival horror games and when I had the opportunity to collaborate on Aftermath, I jumped at the chance to bring my experience working on horror films into a new medium,” said George C. Romero. “Free Reign has built a great title that I think players are going to love, whether they’re new to the survival horror genre or a huge fan like myself.”

Set in an expansive open world filled with lush forests, deserts and fully explorable towns, Romero’s Aftermath has players battle zombies, compete against other survivalists, and use their survival skills such as trapping and cooking animals to stay alive. In Romero’s Aftermath, gameplay is strictly “Free to Win,” which means what happens to a player depends solely on their skills. Romero’s Aftermath costs nothing to download and play, and the only purchasable items are cosmetic skins, customizations and boosts that allow players to acquire certain in-game items more quickly (if they don’t have the time to put into exploring). However, every item can be acquired during play by exploring, looting, trading or defeating other survivalists.

“Working with Cameron on Aftermath is a dream come true for anyone developing a survival-horror game,” said Adam Skidmore, Design Lead on Romero’s Aftermath. “His knowledge and expertise in the genre combined with Aftermath‘s unique gameplay experience will usher in a new era of what survival horror MMOs can be, and we look forward to seeing how players respond to the game.”

For more information on Romero’s Aftermath please visit the game’s official website.

A digital press kit is available at http://bit.ly/1FpTcnb 

About Free Reign Entertainment

Founded in 2014 as a publishing arm of Arktos Entertainment Group, Free Reign is a PC games developer and publishing partner dedicated to creating immersive worlds and games heavily influenced by their community. The studio creates original IP, specializing in developing massive online games.

About George C. Romero

Horror filmmaker George Cameron Romero, son of horror master George A. Romero, has just completed production on his 19th movie that gained him entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of extras in short film history. Cameron continues development of Origins – a feature film that dovetails into Night of the Living Dead, explaining the true origin and genesis of all zombies.”