Microsoft Corp. has bought Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion (R1.04 trillion); the deal is scheduled to be completed in June 2023 and represents a significant shift in the gaming industry.
According to revenue, this acquisition will place Microsoft as the third-largest gaming company behind Sony and Tencent, increasing Microsoft’s roster of well-regarded IPs.
Titles such as World of Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch will be added as well as Activision Blizzard’s 400 million annual users.
Activision Blizzard has many well known and successful game series.
How it started
The deal was initially proposed in December 2021 after a drop in Activision’s stocks and was quickly agreed to by both organisations’ boards of directors.
This is likely a result of the ongoing problems Activision Blizzard has been experiencing in the recent months surrounding sexual harassment.
Despite Activision Blizzard’s workforce staging several walkouts and sending letters demanding change, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer expressed his excitement at potentially working with the controversy-laden company.
“Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them,” Phil Spencer stated and went on to say. “Together, we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”
Until the deal is completed in 2023, provided the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) finds no reason to prevent its completion, each company shall continue to run independently, and there should be little change for gamers in the market.
Employees of Activision Blizzard stage a walkout to protest the reported sexual misconduct in Blizzard.
What may come next
However, there could be severe changes once the deal has been completed and Activision Blizzard becomes part of Microsoft.
Much like with the previous acquisition of Bethesda, specific high-profile titles developed in the future by Activision Blizzard may become exclusive to Microsoft platforms.
Current and future games will likely also be added to the already substantial roster of games offered by Microsoft’s Game Pass.
The Xbox Game Pass provides users access to hundreds of different games.
The extent to which Microsoft will shift IP’s to exclusives will be heavily influenced by the FTC’s investigation into the potential harm to rivals caused by platform exclusivity.
In contrast, if the FTC’s rulings are supportive rival platform supporters may be left out of the loop as new entries in series they’ve long enjoyed are no longer available to them on their favoured consoles.
It is likewise possible that the Sony purchase of Bungie may have come as a response to Microsoft’s recent acquisitions and that this is merely the beginning of a continued effort by both industry titans to out-perform the other through IP acquisition and market dominance.
However, only time will tell if this is the case; for now, gamers can enjoy the already released titles and wait to see what happens next year.
Read: The Xbox Series S is the perfect console for a casual gamer
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