Microsoft has announced its intention to purchase Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, making it one of the world’s largest gaming companies.
With the agreement, popular gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, Warcraft, Overwatch, and others will join Bethesda and Microsoft’s own Xbox Game Studios in Microsoft’s ever-expanding portfolio of studios. King, the makers of Candy Crush, is also included in the purchase, implying that Microsoft may use the company to compete in the mobile arena.
Microsoft is Buying Activision Blizzard
According to Spencer, the Xbox Game Pass services would feature as many Activision Blizzard games as it can. There’s no indication on whether Call of Duty or other mega-franchises will become Xbox exclusives, but with Bethesda’s Starfield being a first-party exclusive, it seems likely.
Though the deal fell through, Microsoft’s intention to buy Activision Blizzard raises antitrust concerns, as well as how Microsoft may manage Activision Blizzard’s poisonous business culture and modify its leadership’s position in the future to promote an egalitarian work environment. Several high-profile sexual harassment charges have been made against Activision Blizzard in recent months, and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued Activision Blizzard in July 2021 for encouraging a culture of “continuous sexual harassment.”
In early 2021, Take-Two Interactive (which includes 2K, Private Division, and Rockstar Games) bought Zynga for $12.7 billion which was the biggest accusition in video gaming industry. But this deal is going suppress that comfortably.
We’ll keep you up to date on the latest news on Microsoft’s huge acquisition here, with reports on how the gaming world might alter (for the better or for the worse) now that one of the largest third-party game studios is under Microsoft’s control.
