"When you’re coding, even a few seconds spent switching to Jira can disrupt your flow. Being able to do everything within Slack is a huge time saver and value add.”
Chris Codding, Manager, Central Tech Operations at Activision

Managing complex game development across global studios

Activision Blizzard, the powerhouse behind iconic games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush, faces the challenge of coordinating development across multiple studios worldwide. As their projects grew more complex, with multiple teams co-developing a single title, they needed a solution to keep everyone in sync and streamline the process.

The dilemma: build or buy?

With Slack already widely adopted within the company, Activision needed a way to seamlessly integrate their development process in Jira with Slack. They faced a critical decision: invest in building an internal tool or find a third-party solution.

“Rather than have our engineers spend time building a custom tool and then support it, we decided we’d rather not have them spend their time on this.”
Chris Codding, Manager, Central Tech Operations at Activision

After researching their options, Activision discovered Integration+ for Slack and quickly recognized it as the solution they needed. Convinced of its value, Activision chose Integration+ for Slack as their go-to solution for Jira-Slack integration.

Organic adoption and word-of-mouth success

Activision rolled out Integration+ for Slack with a strategic, grassroots approach. They began with small, central tech teams, thoroughly testing the platform to understand its capabilities. Once these teams were confident in its use, they started sharing it across the organization.

“Adoption spread like wildfire. Someone would interact with the bot in a shared workspace, and then someone else would ask, ‘Hey, how are you doing that?’ It’s been really cool to see it spread organically.”
Chris Codding, Manager, Central Tech Operations at Activision

Key benefits of Integration+ at Activision

1. Enhanced engagement with Jira

Since implementing Integration+, Activision has seen a significant increase in Jira usage as development teams find it easier to work within Slack. “We’re seeing much more engagement in tickets and a willingness to adopt a tracking system because the barrier to entry is just so much lower,” said Codding.

2. Seamless workflow without context switching

Developers can now update Jira tickets directly within Slack, eliminating the need to switch between tools and maintain their focus on coding.

3. Improved collaboration and faster response times

By integrating Jira with Slack, Activision’s teams can quickly swarm on issues, discuss them in real-time, and resolve them faster.

“Now we can pull that Jira information directly into Slack and have those critical conversations in real-time to get a fast response.”
Chris Codding, Manager, Central Tech Operations at Activision

Accelerating game development with collaboration in Slack

Integration+ has become an essential tool for Activision, enabling them to streamline their development process, enhance collaboration, and speed up response times. As they continue to create some of the world’s most beloved games, the integration between Jira and Slack has proven to be a game-changer in maintaining efficiency across global teams.

About Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard connects and engages the world through epic entertainment. Their products help build community and create social platforms that bring people together. They are relentlessly curious, pushing the boundaries of what is possible to create games of their dreams—and yours. To put it simply, their goal is to make every day more fun with games such as Candy Crush™, Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Hearthstone® and Diablo®.

How Activision streamlined game development with Integration+ for Slack

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