Activision Blizzard, the brains behind some of the most popular video gaming franchises like “Call of Duty,” “Overwatch” and “World of Warcraft” announced that it’s creating a consumer products division. Fortune reported that Tim Kilpin, a former executive at Mattel (where he was president and chief commercial officer) and Walt Disney (where he oversaw the launch of the super-lucrative “Monster High” dolls), will lead the new group as CEO and president. So, it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about merchandising.
“It’s going to be about the opportunity to grow this business more quickly, to be more aggressive about how we bring this business across,” Kilpin said, according to Fortune. “That’s how I’m approaching this at the outset.”
Activision already collects royalties from things like toys, collectible items and apparel, and has partnerships in place with retail outlets, like Target and GameStop, but this new focus on the consumer-focused side of things could boost its visibility in the consumer marketplace in terms of physical hard goods.
