Gaming company Activision Blizzard bought King Digital Entertainment, the maker of Candy Crush, for $5.9 billion, which will continue to operate as an independent unit.

“This acquisition will create one of the largest global entertainment networks with over half a billion combined monthly active users in 196 countries,” Activision said in a statement, adding that it expects to generate over $36 billion of revenue by the end of 2015 and grow cumulatively by over 50 per cent from 2015 to 2019.

The deal represents the biggest-ever acquisition of a mobile gaming company.

According to Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, “the combined revenues and profits solidify our position as the largest, most profitable standalone company in interactive entertainment. With a combined global network of more than half a billion monthly active users, our potential to reach audiences around the world on the device of their choosing enables us to deliver great games to even bigger audiences than ever before.”

The new company will have an entertainment portfolio of several franchises, including King’s Candy Crush Saga and Candy Crush Soda Saga as well as Activision’s Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

Candy Crush Saga and Candy Crush Soda Saga were in the top five grossing games on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2015, according to App Annie.

App Annie’s data also revealed that at least three King games appeared in the top 15 grossing games for seven consecutive quarters on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in the US.

However, while Candy Crush was a roaring success, games like Farm Heroes and Pet Rescue have not seen similar popularity.

According to App Annie’s VP marketing communications & community, Fabien Nicolas, “this news is huge for the app industry, with the purchase highlighting the importance of mobile in the gaming sphere.”

“Activision has taken in the past a more reserved approach to mobile, mainly using mobile apps as side experiences to their PC and console games.  In the meantime, global competitors such as EA or Tencent have embraced this new sector. However, this acquisition clearly demonstrates a new commitment to mobile for Activision as well as the will to diversify their IP portfolio to a more global female audience,” he explained.

Activision also announced “better-than-expected” Q3 2015 results, with GAAP net revenue at $990 million, up from $753 million in the same period last year.