Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard – Gaming And Metaverse Expansion
With The Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft Is Strengthening Its Own Gaming Portfolio – Also For A Possible Metaverse Future.
Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard at an acquisition price of $95 per share. The total value of the transaction is therefore approximately 68.7 billion US dollars.
According to the press release, the group wants to use the acquisition to “accelerate the growth of Microsoft’s games business in the areas of mobile, PC, console and cloud and provide building blocks for the Metaverse.”
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Microsoft Gears Up For Gaming And Metaverse Future
Activision and Blizzard studios are known for games like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush. The gaming conglomerate employs around 10,000 people worldwide.
According to its own statements, the takeover makes Microsoft the third-largest game manufacturer in the world after Tencent and Sony in terms of sales.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sees the acquisition as a strategic move:
“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting entertainment category on all platforms and will play a key role in the development of Metaverse platforms,” Nadella says of the acquisition and promises “a new era of gaming”.
Nadella already talked about future “gaming metaverses” in November 2021, in which virtual reality and augmented reality play a key role.
“If you look at Halo as a game, it’s a metaverse. Minecraft is a metaverse, as is Flight Simulator,” Nadella said. “In a way, they [the aforementioned games] are now 2D and the question is if you can translate that into a fully 3D world now, and we certainly plan to do that.”
With the Activision Blizzard game brands, Microsoft is now strengthening its own portfolio with some of the best-known titles on the market – and their millions of fans.
Bobby Kotick Remains Activision Blizzard CEO
The previous CEO of Activision Blizzard Bobby Kotick will remain in his role and develop Activision Blizzard further.
After closing the deal, Kotick will report to Microsoft’s games boss Phil Spencer. Kotick has been criticized for, among other things, ignoring known incidents of sexual assault or preventing them from becoming public.
“Gamers around the world love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work ahead of them, Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”
~PHIL SPENCER, CEO OF MICROSOFT GAMING.
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