Not long ago, Microsoft surprised the world by announcing that it has acquired Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard is known for its popular series such as Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, StarCraft and World of Warcraft. While much of the debate has been about the game’s platform-exclusivity and the fate of current Activision Blizzard head Bobby Kotick, new details have also begun to emerge that inform other names seeking to buy the company.
In an interview between Kotick and VentureBeat, the executive said that Activision Blizzard needed a partner with thousands of employees to realize its long-term vision. It can be estimated that Microsoft’s 45% premium payment on the share price also helped in this decision.
Kotick said: “We looked over the next few years and started to realize that we need thousands of people to execute our production plans . . . And this competition for this talent is expensive and really tough . We realized that these were going to be problems and challenges . . . When they first called, we thought we should think about it, and then they made this incredibly attractive offer at a premium of 45% over the share price. And it made a lot of sense to me.”
However, it turned out that Electronic Arts, the company behind Battlefield and FIFA, is also interested in merging with Activision Blizzard. Kotick lamented that he was considering consolidating with EA, but this deal would not give Activision Blizzard the resources it needs for the future.
Kotick said: “But when you compare us to $2 trillion companies and $3 trillion companies . . . you realize that we might be a big company in video games, but now, when you look at who the competitors are, it’s a different world today than ever before . . . But I think even if we consolidated with EA, that wouldn’t give us what we needed going forward. And for this to work, we needed to have a great partner.”
The interview gives an interesting look at the deal. Kotick didn’t mention his future at Activision Blizzard, but recent reports say he’ll have to step down after all is done with Microsoft.
Current Activision Blizzard employees are cautiously optimistic about the takeover by Microsoft, according to a report by Eurogamer. Hopefully, Microsoft Gaming president Phil Spencer and his team can improve the situation at Activision Blizzard once the deal takes place in late 2022 or early 2023.
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