The Creators of Halo® and the Publisher of Call of Duty® Unveil DestinyTM

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new generation of gaming is upon us. Today, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), together with critically-acclaimed developer Bungie, revealed the first sneak peak of their partnership. The game, called Destiny, is an ambitious evolution of the first-person action genre that brings gamers together in a shared, persistent world. The result of a large-scale collaboration between Activision, the publisher of such mega franchises as Call of Duty, Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure^TM and Skylanders Giants^TM, and Bungie, the creators of Halo®, Destiny is poised to become the next advancement in interactive entertainment by melding first-person action gaming with a persistent, dynamic online world.

“Activision focuses on doing a few things, exceptionally well. And Bungie has had the same ethos”

Destiny combines Bungie’s trademark grand scope, sci-fi storytelling and adventures with visceral first-person action gaming that takes place in an unfolding, cinematic universe. Additionally, Destiny delivers a unique social gaming experience to consoles by offering players a connected, living world that they can explore, combined with vibrant social spaces where they can congregate and celebrate achievements, and share remarkable adventures grouped with friends or solo.

“Bungie defined first-person action games over a decade ago with Halo, and with Destiny they will evolve the genre once again,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Destiny is a world that evolves. It is a world with wide boundaries that allows you to roam and explore. It is a world where, even in story mode, you could encounter other players on their own adventures. And of course, it is a world that brings all of this together with the visceral, heart pounding immediacy of an expertly crafted first-person action title. We are very excited to bring this ambitious, innovative and creative game to players around the world.”

“Activision focuses on doing a few things, exceptionally well. And Bungie has had the same ethos,” Hirshberg continued. “Together we are focusing the considerable resources, creativity and energy of both organizations to do something new, something ambitious, but most importantly, something fun.”

Set in the distant future, Destiny casts players as Guardians of the last city on Earth, who will traverse the ancient ruins of our solar system from the red dunes of Mars to the lush jungles of Venus. Able to wield incredible power, players must battle humanity’s enemies and reclaim all that was lost during the collapse of mankind’s Golden Age. In a story-driven universe, Destiny’s saga unfolds through grand tales and sweeping adventures by immersing gamers in a bold new world filled with cooperative, competitive, public, and social activities, all seamlessly connected. Bungie’s new next-generation game engine will allow Destiny to come to life on both the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, as well as other future console platforms.

“Destiny is the game that we’ve been dreaming of building for years. We couldn’t be more pleased about our extraordinary collaboration with Activision. We finally have the right partner, team and technology to bring the experience to millions of players worldwide,” said Harold Ryan, Bungie president. “Destiny will draw players into a world filled with mystery, action, and adventure, but most importantly, Destiny is more than a disc in a drive, it is a living social universe filled with other players.”

“Not only does Destiny look amazing, but its new living world will change the way players think of co-operative online gaming,” said global retailer GameStop president Tony Bartel. “This is just the type of innovation the game industry has been waiting for and I’m anxious for players to experience the vast universe of Destiny.”

For more information, visit www.DestinyTheGame.com. For exclusive updates, follow the official Destiny social channels at www.facebook.com/DestinyTheGame and @DestinyTheGame on Twitter, and interact directly with the developers at www.Bungie.net. Pre-order the game now at select retailers around the world. Activision reiterated that although Bungie’s amazing new world was revealed today, Activision has not included the launch in its 2013 outlook and there should be no speculation or expectation of a different result.

About Bungie

Bungie was founded in 1991 with the goals of developing games that combine brilliant technology, beautiful art, intelligent stories and deep gameplay, and then selling enough of those games to achieve its real goal of total world domination. Bungie has spent the last decade forging the Halo series into an award-winning global entertainment phenomenon, but their pedigree goes back twenty-two years with such acclaimed titles as the Marathon Trilogy and the original two Myth games.

Armed with the best talent, state-of-the-art technology, and the finest community on the planet, Bungie is preparing to unleash their newest creation upon the world, Destiny. More information about Bungie can be found at www.bungie.net.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s and Bungie’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future 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.

Halo is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft is not the publisher of Destiny. Activision has no affiliation with Halo.

Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. © 2013 Bungie, Inc. All rights reserved. Destiny, the Destiny Logo, Bungie and the Bungie Logo are among the trademarks of Bungie, Inc. Published and distributed by Activision. Skylanders Spyro's Adventure and Skylanders Giants are trademarks, and Call of Duty and Activision are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.

All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.