The last months have not been good for Activision Blizzard, the giant of the gaming world. There’s been a lot of trouble lately due to allegations of workplace misconduct, misogynistic culture, and more. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the publisher, and around 40 employees have left the company since July 2021. CEO Bobby Kotick was at the center of all these discussions.
There was a big surprise today; Microsoft announced that it has acquired Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Both Microsoft and Activision will continue to operate separately until the necessary approval is received and the purchase is complete. However, once the deal is done, Activision will be tied directly to Microsoft and entrusted to Phil Spencer. Microsoft will become the owner of all of Activision’s major brands, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Overwatch, Diablo and Warcraft.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer said of the transaction: “Gamers everywhere love Activision Blizzard games. Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, almost anywhere they want.”
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement regarding the acquisition, “For over 30 years, our incredibly talented teams have developed some of the most successful games. The combination of Activision Blizzard’s world-class capabilities with Microsoft’s technology, distribution and ambitious vision creates an increasingly competitive It will help ensure our continued success in the industry.”
While the acquisition has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, the nature, value and potential anti-monopoly concerns of the deal prevent it from happening right away. The transaction now needs to go through regulatory and shareholder approval. This is expected to happen at the end of the 2023 fiscal year at the earliest.
It will be interesting to see how the process will change the game environment, if there are no issues with the confirmation. In particular, it is a matter of curiosity whether the games will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, in other words, what awaits the PlayStation front. We don’t know any further than Microsoft’s statement that “Activision Blizzard games are being played on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue supporting these communities moving forward.” But for brands like Call of Duty to leave PlayStation out, it will mean a lot of things change.
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