Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark one) ☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 OR o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission File Number 1-15839 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 95-4803544 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 3100 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (310) 255-2000 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each Class Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered Common Stock, par value $.000001 per share The NASDAQ Global Select Market Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No o Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15 (d) of the Act. Yes o No ☒ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No o Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large Accelerated Filer ☒ Accelerated Filer o Non-accelerated Filer o Smaller Reporting Company o (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o No ☒ The aggregate market value of the registrant's Common Stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2009 as reported on the NASDAQ was $7,039,447,050. The number of shares of the registrant's Common Stock outstanding at February 22, 2010 was 1,249,909,250. Documents Incorporated by Reference Portions of the registrant's definitive Proxy Statement, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to the 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report. Table of Contents ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. PART I. 3 Explanatory Note 3 Cautionary Statement 3 Item 1. Business 4 Item 1A. Risk Factors 13 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 30 Item 2. Properties 30 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 31 Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders 31 PART II. 32 Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 32 Item 6. Selected Financial Data 35 Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 36 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 66 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 67 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 67 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 67 Item 9B. Other Information 68 PART III. 69 Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance 69 Item 11. Executive Compensation 69 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 69 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 69 Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 69 PART IV. 70 Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedule 70 SIGNATURES 71 Exhibit Index E-1 2 Table of Contents PART I EXPLANATORY NOTE On July 9, 2008, a business combination (the "Business Combination") by and among Activision, Inc., Sego Merger Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision, Inc., Vivendi S.A. ("Vivendi"), VGAC LLC, a wholly- owned subsidiary of Vivendi , and Vivendi Games, Inc. ("Vivendi Games"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of VGAC LLC, was consummated. As a result of the consummation of the Business Combination, Activision, Inc. was renamed Activision Blizzard, Inc. ("Activision Blizzard"). For accounting purposes, the Business Combination is treated as a "reverse acquisition," with Vivendi Games deemed to be the acquirer. The historical financial statements of Activision Blizzard, Inc. prior to July 10, 2008 are those of Vivendi Games, Inc. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains, or incorporates by reference, certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements consist of any statement other than a recitation of historical fact and include, but are not limited to: (1) projections of revenues, expenses, income or loss, earnings or loss per share, cash flow or other financial items; (2) statements of our plans and objectives, including those relating to product releases; (3) statements of future economic performance; and (4) statements of assumptions underlying such statements. We generally use words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "intend," "may," "outlook," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "to be," "upcoming," "will," and other similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic risk, reflect management's current expectations, estimates and projections about our business, and are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. Our actual results could differ materially. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only at the date on which this Form 10-K was first filed. Risks and uncertainties that may affect our future results include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Blizzard's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, any further difficulties related to World of Warcraft in China, Activision Blizzard's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Blizzard's products, competition from the used game market, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition and competition from other forms of entertainment, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences including interest in specific genres such as music, first-person action and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Blizzard, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers which can create high quality "hit" titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in "Risk Factors" included in Part I, Item 1A of this Report. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and we assume no 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 our future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Activision Blizzard's names, abbreviations thereof, logos, and product and service designators are all either the registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names of Activision Blizzard. 3 Table of Contents Item 1. BUSINESS Overview Activision Blizzard is a worldwide online, personal computer ("PC"), console, and handheld game publisher. Through Activision Publishing, Inc. ("Activision"), we are a leading