On 18 January 2022, Microsoft announced its plans to buy Activision for $68.7 billion (R1.04 trillion). The acquisition means that Microsoft will publish all Activision’s present and upcoming titles, making Microsoft gaming’s third-leading company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.
Activision is the publisher of popular video game franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Crash Bandicoot, and Guitar Hero, and it’s easy to see how the acquisition will make Microsoft a significant leader in the gaming industry.
The deal is reportedly expected to be concluded sometime between July 2022 and July 2023, pending regulatory approval. However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently launched an antitrust investigation into the acquisition to determine if it will restrict competition within the industry due to the purchase of a direct competitor.
The deal will go through if the FTC determines that it does not harm Microsoft’s rivals in any significant way.
Xbox Game Pass and the battle for exclusivity
Microsoft and its main competitor, Sony, continue to wage war over console exclusivity.
However, Microsoft has stated that acquiring Activision will not affect any of the current Activision games available on Sony’s platforms.
It is uncertain if this will change in the future as there are plans to add Activision’s most popular franchises to Microsoft’s ever-growing subscription service, Xbox Game Pass.
“Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog.”, said Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
Microsoft’s plan to dominate the gaming market has not gone without a response from their competitor, though.
On 31 January, Sony announced its plan to acquire Bungie, the game studio behind the Destiny and Halo series. Sony has promised that all Bungie’s current and upcoming titles will be multi-platform, giving gamers the choice of which console they want to play on.
Winning back gamers
The Microsoft-Activision deal comes when Activision is embroiled in an ongoing lawsuit regarding claims of sexual harassment and other forms of misconduct within the company.
If it plans to mend public opinion, Microsoft has some work ahead of it. As a part of this, Bobby Kotick, current CEO of Activision Blizzard and a significant culprit in the continuing scandal, will reportedly step down from his position once the deal is complete.
Bobby Kotick is at the forefront of the sexual harassment and misconduct scandal.
Read: “Destiny” game developer Bungie bought for R55.3 Billion by Sony
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