MANILA, Philippines – Video game maker Activision Blizzard is branching out from console and PC games into more mobile gaming pursuits, and it’s doing so by buying candy – lots of it. 

The video game company announced Monday, November 2 (November 3, Manila time) that it was acquiring King Digital Entertainment, the maker of mobile game hit Candy Crush Saga, for $5.9 billion.

To put this into scale, Disney bought Lucasfilm – the company behind the Star Wars movies – for $4 billion, while Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion. 

In an investor statement, Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, said: “We continue to benefit from our focus on creating the world’s best interactive entertainment. Our incredibly talented employees around the world once again delivered great content and strong financial results.”

“Mobile gaming is the largest and fastest-growing opportunity for interactive entertainment and we will have one of the world’s most successful mobile game companies and its talented teams providing great content to new customers, in new geographies throughout the world,” Kotick added.

In its report, the Financial Times said, “After falling by 15% to $19 on their debut on the New York Stock Exchange, King’s shares have continued to languish below its $22.50 IPO price.” – Rappler.com