SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE™, THE "MUST-HAVE" KIDS' GAME OF THE YEAR, HITS STORE SHELVES TODAY

Top Selling Kids Video Game Franchise of 20131 Debuts 16 New Swappable Characters, 40 New Characters Overall, Next-Generation Graphics and the Deepest, Most Innovative Game in the Franchise to Date

Franchise that Pioneered the Toys to Life Genre Tops Hot Holidays Lists

for Third Consecutive Year

Skylanders SWAP Force For Nintendo 3DS Introduces Unique Adventure

Santa Monica, CA -  Oct. 13, 2013  - Portal Masters can now wield the power of choice as they defend the Cloudbreak Islands and battle the evil Kaos (and his mom) when the magic of  Skylanders SWAP Force™  hits store shelves nationwide today. Available now for Nintendo Wii™, Nintendo Wii U™, Nintendo 3DS™, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system as well as day-and-date for PlayStation®4 and Xbox One,  Skylanders SWAP Force introduces an all new innovative play pattern - swapability - that lets players freely interchange the top and bottom halves of 16 special characters by mixing and matching their powers and moves into more than 250 unique character combinations*, that are brought to life in the game.

The third installment in the popular franchise from Activision Publishing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI),  Skylanders SWAP Force  is already positioned to be one of the must-have games this holiday having been named to the 2013 Toys"R"Us® "Fabulous 15" on the company's Holiday Toy List as well as TimeToPlayMag.com's Most Wanted List and Toy Insider's Hot 20 Holiday Toys of 2013 List.

"Skylanders is a brand built on one thing: magic. With each and every Skylanders title, we want to deliver new, delightful innovations to our young fans that continue to blur the lines between physical and digital play," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "With  Skylanders SWAP Force , we've taken this genre to a whole new level by giving players the greatest power of all: choice. In a franchise known for breakthrough innovation, I have no doubt that SWAP Force is our most innovativeSkylanders game yet. And we're thrilled to share it with fans of all ages all over the world today."

Building on the franchise's signature gameplay and collectible toy experience, Skylanders SWAP Force  pushes the boundaries of innovation and imagination with an all new play pattern - swapability - that gives kids more choice than ever before over how their SWAP Force characters fight and move. Set in a richly detailed next-generation world, the game takes kids on an all-new adventure with 40 new collectible characters each with unique powers and personalities -- 16 new SWAP Force characters, 16 core Skylanders characters and eight new LightCore™ characters. Additionally, fans can play  Skylanders SWAP Force  with their entire collection of 100+ characters fromSkylanders Spyro's Adventure® and Skylanders Giants™ .

Skylanders SWAP Force  features a new next generation graphics engine** that brings the game's detailed characters and rich environments to life like never before. The game also features new abilities - such as flying, climbing, and teleporting - which can be used throughout Skylands. Friends and family can join the fun with drop-in/drop-out cooperative play as well as experience action-packed gameplay in various Battle and Survival Modes that feature all new arenas.

Additionally, players can embark on an all new unique  Skylanders SWAP Force adventure on the Nintendo 3DS that features game levels and story that are unique to this platform. The 3DS version also includes three new characters - Rattle Shake, Volcanic Eruptor, and Free Ranger - which are not found in any other SkylandersStarter Pack. All characters introduced in  Skylanders SWAP Force  will also be playable on  Skylanders Lost Islands  and  Skylanders Battlegrounds  mobile games, both of which are available on iOS on October 13 and on Android on  November 1 .