Blizzard Entertainment is a video game publisher and developer founded in 1994 by Michael Morhaime.
Activision Blizzard was the subject of a lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housin in July 2021,As a result of the California lawsuit and of delays and release issues with their more recent games, Activision Blizzard's stock faced severe pressure. Subsequently, Microsoft seized the opportunity to become one of the largest video game companies in the world and announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard and its subsidiaries, including Blizzard, for $68.7 billion in January 2022. The deal is expected to close by mid-2023, during which Activision Blizzard will remain its own company and, once finalized, will be moved into the Microsoft Gaming division.