Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion – Now What?
Microsoft - Activision Blizzard deal is about to happen. Legendary games, immersive interactive entertainment and publishing expertise accelerate growth in Microsoft's Gaming business across mobile,...
Microsoft is building its metaverse
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher. This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.
Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard’s net cash. When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.
The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like:
Warcraft
Diablo
Overwatch
Call of Duty
Candy Crush
in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has studios around the word with nearly 10,000 employees.
Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming.
“Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them. Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”
– said Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming.
What the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal means for gamers
This is a great deal for Microsoft, but what will happen to the games? Call of Duty says goodbye on PlayStation? What happens to World of Warcraft?
Does this mean that Activision Blizzard games will be available only for XBOX and PC?
Optimistic predictions say no because there are a lot of franchises, for instance, Overwatch and Call of Duty, which are too big to be locked into certain platforms like one console and PC. Microsoft has not revealed its plan for the franchises yet.
The acquisition also bolsters Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass.
Once the deal closes, hopefully, we’ll have more information about the future plans.
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