Activision

USA · Founded 1979 · Developer / Publisher

Activision was the world's first third-party game developer, founded by Atari programmers who demanded credit and royalties. Pitfall!, Kaboom!, and River Raid proved independent developers could match first-party quality.

Activision was founded in October 1979 by five Atari programmers — David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, Bob Whitehead, and Jim Levy — who left Atari after the company refused to credit game developers on cartridge packaging or share royalties proportional to sales. Their departure was acrimonious: Atari sued Activision, arguing that as employees their work belonged to Atari. The lawsuit was settled in 1982 with Activision agreeing to pay a licensing fee, legitimising the third-party developer model that would define the industry. David Crane's Pitfall! (1982) became one of the Atari 2600's best-selling titles, demonstrating that independent studios could match or exceed first-party quality. The company's early 1980s library — Kaboom!, River Raid, Barnstorming, Chopper Command — established Activision as the premier third-party publisher for Atari hardware. The company's modern incarnation, dramatically expanded through acquisitions, bears little resemblance to its scrappy founding.