Microsoft Corporation has announced the acquisition of the leading game development and content distributor firm, Activision Blizzard Inc. to expand its horizon in the gaming landscape. This deal is the largest ever transaction in the gaming industry wherein the multinational conglomerate surpassed its previous humongous deal of USD 7.5 billion with ZeniMax Media in 2021.
In this deal, which is expected to conclude in the financial year of 2023, Microsoft will gain ownership of Activision Blizzard by purchasing USD 95 per share leading to an all-cash transaction value of a whopping USD 68.7 billion that includes the gaming firm’s net cash. This move will make Microsoft the largest gaming unit by revenue leaving just Tencent and Sony ahead. After the deal closes, the gaming organisation will function under the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, until then it would retain its current CEO.
This humongous acquisition would include popular and iconic gaming properties such as Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Candy Crush and global esports organisation Major League Gaming. With this association, both the media giants will enhance the outreach of exclusive games like Halo and Warcraft, allowing the gamers to access them anywhere they want captivating the mobile gaming industry with games like Candy Crush. This purchase would also strengthen Microsoft’s Game Pass stance which would benefit from Activision Blizzard’s 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries. The American technology firm plans to develop 30 internal game development spaces with esports production capabilities and publishing prowess.
Satya Nadella, the chairman and CEO of Microsoft commented on this massive deal, “Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms. We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”
Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming also gave his insights on the collaboration and said, “Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them. Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”
Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard put forth his views on this prosperous deal and said, “For more than 30 years our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games. The combination of Activision Blizzard’s world-class talent and extraordinary franchises with Microsoft’s technology, distribution, access to talent, ambitious vision and shared commitment to gaming and inclusion will help ensure our continued success in an increasingly competitive industry.”