Tech

Activision Blizzard Acquires 'Candy Crush' Maker For $5.9B

Activision Blizzard will buy Candy Crush maker King Digital for $5.9 billion as the company looks to expand in the mobile-gaming world.

Activision Blizzard Acquires 'Candy Crush' Maker For $5.9B
Getty Images / Andrew Burton
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The "Candy Crush Saga" maker is now under the same umbrella company as "Call of Duty," "World of Warcraft," "StarCraft" and "Destiny." (Video via King Digital / "Candy Crush Saga")

Activision Blizzard announced late Monday it will buy "Candy Crush" maker King Digital for $5.9 billion. (Video via King Digital / "Candy Crush Saga")

The acquisition is part of the company's plan to expand into mobile gaming, the fastest-growing market in video games.

"Candy Crush" is played in 196 countries and has almost half a billion monthly active users. (Video via King Digital / "Candy Crush Saga")

Besides the hit "Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft," Activision has struggled in mobile gaming. (Video via Blizzard Entertainment / "Hearthstone, Heroes of Warcraft")

The acquisition also might help Activision Blizzard grow its female audience. (Video via SLN! Media Group)

Women make up 60 percent of King Digital's audience. CEO Robert Kotick said Activision Blizzard is mostly tailored to the male audience and said he was excited "to address hundreds of millions of female customers." (Video via King / "Candy Crush Saga.")

There are some skeptics, though. The New Yorker says "Candy Crush" may be a "one-hit wonder" in the industry.

The popular mobile game accounts for one-third of King Digital's profits, although the gains have been slipping in the past few years. (Video via King / "Candy Crush Saga.")

Consumer spending on "Candy Crush" has gone down about 13 percent since last year. (Video via King / "Candy Crush Saga.")

I mean, remember "Angry Birds"? It was a great hit at first, but profits dropped 73 percent in 2014 alone. (Video via Rovio Entertainment / "Angry Birds.")

Both companies unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to be finalized by spring 2016.

This video includes images from Getty Images.