Microsoft has announced that they have aquired Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind Call of Duty and Overwatch, in a deal that for nearly $70 billion dollars. This news shortly follows news that Phil Spencer had spoken to the company following a year of walkouts and protests against them over workplace culture and harassment, stating at the time “We have changed how we do certain things with them, and they’re aware of that.”
The deal itself will be finalized for a whopping $68.7 billion, nearly 10 times the amount paid for Bethesda which at the time was a massive acquisition. With this deal comes Call of Duty, one of the most popular franchises on the market, the Blizzard stable of games including MMO World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Overwatch, as well as Candy Crush developer King.
In a blog post concerning the deal, it was stated that Phil Spencer will be named as CEO of Activision Blizzard. Spencer stated that Microsoft “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.”
Concerning the issues present at Activision Blizzard, this post does not address them directly. It does, however, go on to say:
As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment.
Activision Blizzard is currently facing multiple lawsuits, as well as a federal investigation over its workplace. Despite large pleas from employees to see current CEO Bobby Kotick removed from his position which he refused to do, it appears that there are no plans currently to remove him from the company.
With this purchase, it brings will bring the total amount of Xbox studios up to 30:
With Activision Blizzard’s nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and three billion-dollar franchises, this acquisition will make Game Pass one of the most compelling and diverse lineups of gaming content in the industry. Upon close, Microsoft will have 30 internal game development studios, along with additional publishing and esports production capabilities.
The deal has not been finalized yet, and experts do not believe it will close until Microsofts’ 2023 fiscal year. Already many other experts are stating that purchases of this magnitude raise Antitrust concerns, something we will have to watch for as the acquisition gets closer to being finalized.
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