Activision Logo PNG
Activision’s logo expresses the mood of the computer games it develops. Its sharp angles are softened, and asymmetrical elements break the ideal balance. It maintains the logo’s visual dynamics.
Activision began in 1979 after an internal conflict at Atari. David Crane found that his games had earned more than $20 million, while his annual salary was $20,000. Together with Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, and Bob Whitehead, he argued that four programmers had generated about 60% of Atari’s cartridge sales, worth nearly $100 million.
In May 1979, they asked Atari president Ray Kassar for royalties and credit on game boxes, similar to how record labels credited musicians. Kassar refused. On October 1, 1979, the four developers and music industry manager Jim Levy founded a new company, first called Computer Arts, Inc. Levy later created the name Activision from “active” and “television.”
Activision entered the market in 1980 with Dragster, Fishing Derby, Checkers, and Boxing for the Atari 2600. Its packaging featured bright covers and credited developers, which was unusual for the time. In 1982, Crane released Pitfall!, one of the Atari 2600’s major hits. By 1983, Activision’s revenue reached $159 million, but the video game crash cut quarterly revenue from $50 million to $6–7 million.
The company later renamed itself Mediagenic in 1988 and struggled with debt. In 1991, Bobby Kotick and Brian Kelly bought control of the company for about $500,000, cut staff, moved the company to Los Angeles, and restored the Activision name in 1992. The company went public on NASDAQ in 1993, then grew through Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, the 2008 merger with Vivendi Games and Blizzard Entertainment, and Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition in 2023.
Meaning and History
Activision is a pioneer of sorts. Its founders were the first to decide to separate from console manufacturers and sell games independently (1979). Four programmers from Atari not only took half the income, which Atari could not accept for a long time (litigation until 1982), but also began advertising the developers’ names alongside the products. The venture succeeded, and the company gradually acquired other small developers, became an industry leader, and attracted large buyers.
The company’s logo has changed twice due to name changes and subsequent returns to the old name.
What is Activision?
Microsoft-owned major American video game developer founded in 1979. The company’s headquarters is in Santa Monica.
1979 – 1988
The first logo featured an image followed by the company name.
Colored stripes appeared in front of the letter A. Their length decreased as the letter A was tilted. The meaning of the emblem is as follows:
- Shades of the RYB model (red, yellow, blue) and combinations. This color-formation model is considered traditional. With its help, artists and designers create art. Activision created masterpieces: colorful games that pleased the eye.
- The analog color television the PS connected to produced a picture that tracked the blue-to-red ratio, which was extreme on the logo, from which the rest of the spectrum was formed.
- Stripes were also hinted at in PS cords, which used red, blue, yellow, green, and white cable heads.
The company name on the emblem was in black font. In addition to the first A, two letters inside the word were capitalized: “T” and “V.” The V above had two lines extending to the sides, reminiscent of television antennas. The right branch covered the “isi” section, and the left branch formed a single whole with the “T” head. The letter combination meant “TV”-television. This indicated the development of console games that work with the TV.
The central V divided the name into two parts: Activ (an asset or resource) and vision (vision, foresight, a beautiful sight). The company created a resource that creates a beautiful, spectacular performance on TV. And she did it easily (in youth slang, the expression means “easy”).
The letter V resembled a flying bird with wings, which predicted the company’s heyday and leadership positions.
1988 – 1992
Activision decided to play not only games but also business applications. So it chose a new name: Mediagenic. But things went wrong. The company kept this name only until 1991, when it went bankrupt. The logo from this period reflects the new name.
The Mediagenic emblem retained a reminder of its former name thanks to its color. It has an iridescent coloration that transitions from blue to red through yellow. The colors separate along the central letter “A.” This divides the name into two words: blue-green Media (media) and yellow-red genic (genius). In the literary version of the translation, this is:
- “Company, ingenious in the field of media.” In this sense, media refers to the Internet. By choosing a new niche under this name, the company reflected the diversity of its activities.
- “Mediagenic, attractive to users.” A company that creates a game interface that is convenient and interesting for receiving information.
An unusual font was chosen for the name, with some letters rendered as solid geometric shapes. The outline of the M retained a vague reminder of the bird formed by the V in the Activision title. Its move to the top indicated the company’s big claims and a sharp rise. As a triangle pyramid, the letter A also hinted at the ascent to new heights.
1992 – today
A year later (1992), the owners emerged from bankruptcy by merging with The Disc Company. The firm resumed operations under the old name Activision.
After the name was returned, the emblem reverted to its previous form, but the colored stripes were removed. All modern computers and televisions use the RGB color system. Set-top boxes are not very popular, and games are mainly developed for computers, so the cord color scheme has become irrelevant. Along with the logo’s return, the company decided to keep only one line of business games.
Microsoft bought the company in January 2022.
Font and Colors
The bright colors in the first two versions of the emblem suggested a flight of fancy, many interesting ideas, and varied game plots. An impressive staff of programmers worked together on the games. The modern emblem’s main color is black. It shows the company’s power and high position.
The logo font is a modified version of Futura.
Activision Logo Color Codes:
- Black: Hex color:#000000; RGB:0 0 0; CMYK:0 0 0 100; Pantone:PMS Process Black C