Vivendi Games

Vivendi Games

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	CUC Software
Founded	1996
Fate	Merged with Activision to form Activision Blizzard (2008)
Headquarters	Los Angeles , United States
Products	Video games
Parent	Vivendi

Vivendi Games was a Los Angeles-based American video game publisher and holding company. Originating in 1996 under the name CUC Software as the publishing division of CUC International, it expanded through the acquisitions of video game companies such as Davidson & Associates and Sierra On-Line. From 1997 until 2001, the entity experienced several ownership transitions and rebranding efforts before integrating into Vivendi Universal (which later became Vivendi). On July 10, 2008, Vivendi Games combined with Activision, resulting in the formation of Activision Blizzard.

CUC/Cendant

On February 21, 1996, CUC International revealed plans for a stock swap to acquire Davidson & Associates (including Blizzard Entertainment) alongside Sierra On-Line. This acquisition was completed on July 24, 1996. Known primarily for its membership shopping clubs, CUC’s move into the software sector took many industry observers by surprise.

To oversee these new gaming assets, CUC created CUC Software centered around Davidson & Associates’ operations in Torrance. Both Davidson & Associates and Sierra continued to function autonomously within this structure. Bob Davidson, co-founder of Davidson & Associates, was appointed chairman and CEO of CUC Software. Later that year, CUC expanded further by acquiring developer Knowledge Adventure through a stock transaction valued between and , finalized in early 1997.

In February 1997, Bob Davidson resigned as CEO; Christopher McLeod, who served as an executive vice president at CUC International, took over the position. By April 1997, CUC had purchased Berkeley Systems for an undisclosed sum.

On May 28, 1997, CUC announced its merger with Hospitality Franchise Systems, which was completed in December and led to the creation of Cendant. As a result, CUC Software was renamed Cendant Software.

Havas/Vivendi

On November 20, 1998, French media firm Havas, acquired earlier that year by Vivendi, declared its intent to buy Cendant Software for in cash, with an additional potential payment dependent on performance metrics. Following this acquisition, the division was rebranded as Havas Interactive.

By May 16, 2001, Havas Interactive had been renamed Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing, coinciding with Havas itself transitioning to Vivendi Universal Publishing. This rebranding followed the merger between Vivendi and Universal, incorporating assets from Universal Interactive Studios. The company was organized into Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing North America and International to manage regional publishing duties. On November 13, 2001, these branches were merged into a single entity called Vivendi Universal Games.

After divesting its media operations to General Electric in October 2003, Vivendi maintained Vivendi Universal Games as a standalone division. On March 3, 2006, following the completion of this sale, Vivendi removed "Universal" from its corporate name and introduced a mobile gaming branch named Vivendi Universal Games Mobile.

Merger with Activision

In December 2007, U.S.-based publisher Activision announced plans to merge with Vivendi Games to establish a new holding company called Activision Blizzard. The merger received approval from Activision’s shareholders on July 8, 2008, and was finalized two days later on July 10. This transaction created Activision Blizzard and resulted in the dissolution of Vivendi Games. Bruce Hack, previously CEO of Vivendi Games, assumed the roles of vice-chairman and chief corporate officer at the newly formed company. Subsequently, several properties owned by Vivendi Games were discontinued as they did not fit within Activision’s long-term strategic objectives.

Publishers

Name	Established or Purchased	Ref.
Black Label Games	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting ||
Fox Interactive	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting ||
NDA Productions	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting ||
Sierra Entertainment	REDIRECT Template:Date table sorting ||
Universal Interactive	June 2000
Vivendi Games Mobile	March 2006

Former

Name	Established or Purchased
Centerscore	September 2006

Developers

Name	Established or Purchased
Blizzard Entertainment	March 1994
Berkeley Systems	April 1997
Davidson & Associates	July 1996
High Moon Studios	January 2006
Massive Entertainment	October 2002
Radical Entertainment	March 2005
Swordfish Studios	June 2005
Wanako Games	February 2007

Former

Name	Year Established or Purchased
Knowledge Adventure	February 1997
Coktel Vision	1996