Microsoft made the decision to buy the hugely popular and also extremely troubled Activision Blizzard in a groundbreaking deal
Microsoft has officially acquired Activision Blizzard in a huge deal worth about $70 million. This is the largest acquisition in Microsoft history, as well as the largest gaming buyout.
Following Tencent and Sony, Activision Blizzard will become a branch of Microsoft Gaming. Giving Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in the world, a market capitalization of over $2.3 trillion.
Xbox Boss Phil Spencer said in his statement:
“Over many decades, the studios and teams that make up Activision Blizzard have earned vast wellsprings of joy and respect from billions of people all over the world.
We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented, dedicated people across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch, and every team across Activision Blizzard.”
This significant transaction is likely to close during Microsoft’s fiscal year (July 2022-June 2023). Microsoft has stated that they and Activision Blizzard would operate separately. The Activision Blizzard staff will report to Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming after the acquisition is complete.
This deal will “add “as many Activision Blizzard games as we can” to Xbox Game Pass for PC and console. These will include new games and catalog titles, according to Phil Spencer . He went on to say that acquiring Activision Blizzard will help to “accelerate” their plans for cloud gaming. Spencer said, “Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward.”
Activision Blizzard is responsible for some of the most popular games to date including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Diablo, Spyro Skylanders, Overwatch, and even Candy Crush Saga.
In terms of sales and market value, Activision Blizzard is the largest game company in the Americas and Europe as of March 2018.
Recently though the company has seen major scandal due to the “toxic” work environment employees found themselves in. Accusations of Sexual harassment and even a court case against the company have been started. This has resulted in a few walkouts being staged by the employees of late.
Will this acquisition improve the work environment of Activision Blizzard’s employees? And how will it affect game pass etc… Only time will tell, but the prospect is exciting for all in the gaming community.