Activision have announced a new addition to the management team at Activision Blizzard Studios, a new business recently formed with the aim of creating film and television content based on Activision’s portfolio of games. The games that will receive the treatment include Call of Duty, Skylanders, Diablo and StarCraft.
Stacey Sher has joined the studio as co-president and her history includes producing blockbuster films such as The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained as well as television shows like Reno 911! Sher will co-lead the studio alongside Nick van Dyk, who was previously an executive at Disney. The studio was announced in November and will see films based on hit titles like Call of Duty arrive as early as 2018.
“Stacey is a rare talent behind two decades of award-winning television series and films. Her ability to collaborate with the most inspired, talented people in entertainment and her unyielding commitment to creativity make her perfectly suited to Activision Blizzard Studios. As custodians of some of the world’s most successful entertainment franchises, we are thoughtfully and creatively expanding our franchises through television and films in a way that will honor the commitment our audiences make to our games.” – Bobby Kotick, CEO at Activision Blizzard
“Stacey’s immense talent is a great fit for Activision Blizzard Studios, and together we’ll bring Activision Blizzard’s hugely popular intellectual property to both existing fans and new audiences. Our model is unique: we have a rich library of franchises created over three decades with tens of millions of fans, direct relationships with our audiences and Activision Blizzard’s business capabilities, which enable us to operate with incredible efficiency in content creation, marketing and distribution as compared to the traditional studios. Our focused and disciplined strategy will drive tremendous franchise value for Activision Blizzard as we bring audiences new ways to engage with the intellectual property they love. I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Stacey in building this business.” – Nick van Dyk, co-president at Activision Blizzard Studios
“As its large and loyal fanbase can attest, Activision Blizzard has created franchises that mean so much to audiences over the course of 35 years. I’m excited about our mandate to create filmed entertainment based on Activision Blizzard games that is as great as the games themselves. I look forward to joining Nick, Bobby, and the insanely talented and forward-thinking team at Activision Blizzard to develop an even greater voice for these franchises by bringing them into the world of television and film.” – Stacey Sher, co-president at Activision Blizzard Studios
