Activision Blizzard Launches Studio Division In Bid To Deploy Intellectual Property Warchest

Video game maker Activison Blizzard announced that it will set up a film studio to create movies and television shows based on its immensely popular video game franchises such as "Call of Duty" and "Hearthstone"

Unveiling a trailer for its franchise -- World of Warcraft -- at its annual fan convention called BlizzCon on Friday, the company said a "near-term" project for the videogame maker's film and TV studio will be to develop a movie franchise based on the military first-person shooter "Call of Duty" among others.

The Santa Monica, California-based company said that an animated TV show based on its popular "Skylanders" video game was already under production.

Activision roped in Disney senior executive Nick van Dyk to head the new unit, along with another person who is yet to be named. The company will be looking to leverage the broad appeal of its games under van Dyk, who played a significant role in Disney’s acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm.

“Our movies and shows will benefit from the remarkable IP created in our games ” he said.

While the company said it would work with traditional studios for theatrical distributions of its films, Activision signaled it might not stick to a single platform for its films as its gaming sales gives it “the option to self distribute if we want,” according to van Dyk.

Apart from its latest foray, the video game maker has branched out into mobile gaming and competitive gaming in recent times. The company made a deal to buy "Candy Crush" maker King Digital Entertainment Plc earlier this week. Activision also announced in October that it would start an e-sports division where gamers play against each other for prize money.

The company's shares fell 6 percent in the U.S. on Friday after the announcement.