Activision Blizzard opens television and film studio

Activision Blizzard has announced the launch of a new film and television studio to produce adaptations for its various franchises.

The publisher has confirmed Call of Duty will get its own multi-movie franchise, while Skylanders is to receive the animated series treatment as Skylanders Academy.

Not much is known about the CoD films yet, but the Skylanders series has signed Futurama writer Eric Rogers, as well as a several big-name cast members including Justin Long as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf, Norm Macdonald as Glumshanks, and Jonathan Banks as Eruptor.

"Activision Blizzard Studios has the unique advantage of starting with a library of world-class intellectual property that includes some of the largest franchises which have not yet been developed in film and television," the new studio’s co-president Nick van Dyk said.

"Activision Blizzard Studios is not just an exciting new business for our company, it is a synergistic complement to our core business. Our movies and shows will benefit from the remarkable IP created in our games and will further increase the awareness of, engagement with, and passion for our franchises."

The company sent shock waves across the industry last week with its$5.9bn purchaseof Candy Crush studio King.