In an unexpected move, Microsoft announced the acquisition of a large Activision Blizzard suite under a $ 68.7 billion contract.
Microsoft is in the process of acquiring Activision , the high-profile publisher of popular titles such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo. The deal between Microsoft and Activision will be worth $ 68.7 billion; That goes far beyond Redmond’s $ 26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn. The acquisition of Activision Blizzard is arguably Microsoft’s biggest move in the gaming industry, which it says will become “the third most lucrative gaming company after Tencent and Sony” after the acquisition of Activision is finalized.
Microsoft plans to release many Activision games to Xbox Game Pass users after finalizing the Activision-Blizzard acquisition process; Thus, Microsoft will release popular franchises such as Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Kennedy Crash. Xbox Director Phil Spencer says of Activision acquisition:
Once the contract is finalized, we will add as many Blizzard Activities games as we can, including new titles and games from the company’s catalog to the Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.
While Microsoft continues to take over studios to attract more users to GamePress; The service now hosts 25 million users.
News of Microsoft’s $ 69 billion acquisition of Activision Bilzard came as the gaming company was embroiled in sexual harassment allegations for months. In July last year, the California Department of Fair Housing and Employment (DFEH) filed a lawsuit against Activision for promoting a culture of “persistent sexual harassment.” Following the DFEH Office’s complaint, more employees filed similar complaints; Eventually, Activision reached an $ 18 million deal with the US Equity Commission; Of course, the recent agreement is under review, and more than 40 Blizzard Activision employees have reportedly left it since last July.
The Redmondians have not yet commented on their strategy to address Activision’s recent problems; They say Bobby Catic currently remains Blizzard CEO of Activision. It seems that after finalizing the acquisition process, Katik will be removed from office. Phil Spencer, formerly head of Microsoft Gaming, is now the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, and Microsoft says Activision Blizzard will report directly to Spencer.
Microsoft is now finalizing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a year after its $ 7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda (Xenimax Media). At that time, with the addition of Xenimax Media, the number of Xbox studios reached 23 teams. The Redmondians expect the acquisition of Activision to be finalized in fiscal year 2023; This means that this is unlikely to happen in the next 18 months.
