Editing Activision (section)

=== Purchase by Bobby Kotick (1991–1997) ===
Davis' management of Mediagenic failed to produce a profitable company; in 1991, Mediagenic reported a loss of {{USD|26.8 million|long=no}} on only {{USD|28.8 million|long=no}} of revenue and had over {{USD|60 million|long=no}} in debt.<ref name="Gamasutra" /><ref name="brick">{{cite journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980128082919/http://www.newmedia.com/NewMedia/96/09/screens/Activision_Rebound.html |url=https://newmediadenver.com/NewMedia/96/09/screens/Activision_Rebound.html |title=Activision: Reorganized, Redefined and on the Rebound |date=June 24, 1996 |author=Sengstack, Jeff |archive-date=January 28, 1998 |journal=NewMedia |url-status=dead |access-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref> This debt included a {{USD|6 million|long=no}} penalty against Mediagenic in May 1990 after losing patent infringement lawsuits filed against it by [[Magnavox]] over the similarities of Activition's games to Magnavox's patents.<ref name="schreier play nice chap12">Schreier, 2024, Chapter Twelve: Bobby</ref> Cyan severed their contract with Activision, and turned to [[Broderbund]] for publishing, including what became one of the most significant computer games of the 1990s, ''[[Myst]]''.<ref name="brick" />

[[File:Bobby Kotick executive photo.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Bobby Kotick]]
[[Bobby Kotick]] had become interested in the value of the video game industry following the crash, and he and three other investors worked to buy [[Commodore International]] in an effort to gain access to the [[Amiga]] line of personal computers. After failing to complete purchase, the group bought a company that licensed [[Nintendo]] characters, and through Nintendo was directed to the failing Mediagenic.<ref name="mw">{{cite web |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bobby-kotick-changes-game-activision |title=Kotick changes the game at Activision Blizzard |first=Dan |last=Gallagher |date=December 4, 2008 |access-date=February 12, 2019 |work=[[Market Watch]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308043931/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bobby-kotick-changes-game-activision |archive-date=March 8, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Kotick was drawn to buy out Mediagenic not for its current offerings but for the Activision name, given its past successes with ''Pitfall!'', with hopes to restore Activision to its former glory.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/02/18/activision-passed-on-the-sims |title=Activision Passed on The Sims |first=Matt |last=Casamassina |date=February 18, 2010 |access-date=March 2, 2019 |work=[[IGN]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043610/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/02/18/activision-passed-on-the-sims |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> After failing to negotiate a purchase with Davis, Kotick and additional investors bought Mediagenic in a [[hostile takeover]] for approximately {{USD|500,000|long=no}} in 1991. This group of investors included real estate businessman [[Steve Wynn]] and [[Philips Electronics]].<ref name="schreier play nice chap12"/><ref name="nytimes dec1993">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/28/business/market-place-home-software-s-treasure-hunt.html |title=Market Place; Home Software's Treasure Hunt |first=Steve |last=Lohr |date=December 28, 1993 |access-date=February 13, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214002846/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/28/business/market-place-home-software-s-treasure-hunt.html |archive-date=February 14, 2019 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="mw" />

Kotick became CEO of Mediagenic on its purchase and made several immediate changes: He let go of all but 8 of the companies' 150 employees, performed a full restructuring of the company, developed a bankruptcy restructuring plan, and reincorporated the company in Los Angeles, California.<ref name="forbes kotick" /> In the bankruptcy plan, Kotick recognized that Mediagenic still had valuable assets, which included the Infocom library as well as its authoring tools to make games, Activision's distribution network, and licenses to develop on Nintendo and Sega home consoles.<ref name="brick" /> Kotick offset some debt by giving stock in the company to its distributors as to keep them vested in the company's success; this included convincing [[Philips Electronics]], Magnavox's parent company, to convert their legal debt into stock in Activision.<ref name="schreier play nice chap12"/><ref name="brick" /> Kotick also had the company reissue several of its past console and Infocom titles as compilations for personal computers. Kotick had also recognized the value of the ''[[Zork]]'' property from Infocom, and had the company develop a sequel, ''[[Return to Zork]]''. Combined, these steps allowed Mediagenic to fulfill on the bankruptcy plan, and by the end of 1992, Kotick renamed Mediagenic to the original Activision name.<ref name="brick" /> The new Activision went public in October 1993, raising about {{USD|40 million|long=no}},<ref name="forbes kotick" /> and was listed on NASDAQ under its new ticker symbol '''ATVI'''.<ref name="nytimes dec1993" />

By 1995, Kotick's approach had met one promise he made to investors: that he would give them four years of 50% growth in revenues while remaining break-even. Reaching this goal, Kotick then set Activision on his second promise to investors, to develop high-demand games and make the company profitable by 1997.<ref name="brick" />

Activision published the first-person perspective ''[[MechWarrior (1989 video game)|MechWarrior]]'' in 1989, based on [[FASA]]'s pen-and-paper game ''[[BattleTech]]''. A sequel, ''[[MechWarrior 2]]'', was released in 1995 after two years of delays and internal struggles, prompting FASA not to renew their licensing deal with Activision. To counter, Activision released several more games bearing the ''MechWarrior 2'' name, which did not violate their licensing agreement. These included ''NetMech'', ''[[MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy]]'', and ''[[MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries]]''. The entire ''MechWarrior 2'' game series accounted for more than {{US$|70&nbsp;million}} in sales.

Activision procured the license to another pen-and-paper-based [[Wargaming|war game]], ''[[Heavy Gear]]'', in 1997. [[Heavy Gear (video game)|The video game version]] was well received by critics, with an 81.46% average rating on [[GameRankings]] and being considered the best game of the genre at the time by [[GameSpot]]. The ''Mechwarrior 2'' engine was also used in other Activision games, including 1997's ''[[Interstate '76]]'' and 1998's ''[[Battlezone (1998 video game)|Battlezone]]''.