A historic deal shakes up the gaming industry: tech giant Microsoft buys CoD and WoW publisher Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion.
This deal is arguably the biggest in the entire gaming world. Microsoft on Tuesday announced the purchase of video game publishing giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
In the (official announcement), Microsoft states that the acquisition of the publisher of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and other world-renowned titles should lead to increase growth in the gaming business. Microsoft cites the mobile, PC, console and cloud markets. The move is also expected to “provide additional building blocks for the Metaverse. “
Today is a historic moment. We are excited to announce that the world-renowned franchises and talented people at @ATVI_AB will be joining Team Xbox!
Full announcement details here: https://t.co/RwF0QgXVwE pic.twitter.com/jIXuYCcndG
Xbox (@Xbox) January 18, 2022
The announced acquisition is expected to close, along with an all-cash transaction, in fiscal 2023. According to Microsoft, Activision Blizzard shareholders must consent and regulatory review must be completed. The boards of both companies have already approved the transaction.
Microsoft will acquire all of Activision Blizzard’s shares, priced at $95 each. It will also acquire the net cash. After the deal closes, Microsoft is expected to become the third largest gaming company – only Tencent and Sony have higher revenues.
Will Call of Duty only be playable exclusively for Xbox and PC?
Whether the deal will have major consequences for specific video game titles like Call of Duty is still unknown. Microsoft has already shown with the acquisition of Bethesda that their titles will only be playable exclusively for the Xbox and PC. An announcement in this regard is accordingly still pending.
Controversial CEO Bobby Kotick is to remain in his position at Activision Blizzard. Kotick has come under heavy criticism due to the sexism allegations at Activision Blizzard, causing immense damage to the company’s image. Nevertheless, Microsoft plans to continue with Kotick for the time being, saying he will focus on “accelerating business growth”.
In general, the numbers of active gamers have declined in recent years – also because of growing criticism of the publisher. Nevertheless, according to Microsoft, almost 400 million gamers per month are active in Activision Blizzard titles. The tech giant expects the acquisition to bring it to a new high. “Gamers around the world love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work ahead of them,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer insists. “Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want. “
