Microsoft announces plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion
At this point, it’s no secret that Activision Blizzard has been entangled in a seemingly never-ending series of trouble, ranging froma state lawsuit derived from employee misconduct and abusestothe CEO hiding the number of firingsas part of the fallout of the company’s widespread misconduct. And this doesn’t even touch upon Blizzard’s screw-ups, like thecringe-worthy announcement for Diablo Immortal(still not out four years later) orthe absolute failure of Warcraft III: Reforged. This is whereMicrosoft sweeps in with a buyout offerfor Activision Blizzard, and it’s a whopping $68.7 billion all-cash offer, outclassingMicrosoft’s purchase of ZeniMax Mediaby almost 60 billion (to put things into perspective). So far, it sounds like the acquisition will go through, which will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company behind Sony and Tencent.
Clearly, Microsoft has been on a tear, making a big push into gaming, havingalready purchased ZeniMax Media, which includes Bethesda’s full catalog. Now Microsoft is making a push to acquire Activision Blizzard for a boatload of cash ($68.8 billion to be exact), and Microsoft’s press release sounds confident this acquisition will go through.
What comes off as odd in today’s announcement is thatMicrosoft plans to keep Bobby Kotick as the CEO of Activision Blizzard, when you’d think this would be the prime opportunity to clean house and ultimately clean up the work conditions of the company. Kotick is currently under fire in the press fordelaying a summary of the employees Activision Blizzard has disciplined over allegations of sexual harassment, so you have to wonder if this is because of the buyout or despite it. Neither are good options.
Of course, this is a substantial acquisition that will significantly affect the industry, including mobile, since Activision Blizzard owns King (of Candy Crush fame). You also have to wonder how this will affect exclusivity, where Microsoft has already claimed it will keep some of Bethesda’s catalog on its own systems (PC/Xbox),such as Elders Scrolls VI. So there’s definitely a question of whether or not Activision Blizzard’s catalog will also see similar exclusivity. Today’s press release also makes mention of pushing Microsoft properties on mobile, which is also worrying if King will be the studio developing them (I mean, seriously, just look atKing’s awful catalog).
All in all, I’m not so sure how to feel about Microsoft’s upcoming acquisition. On the one hand, it’s great to see Microsoft making a big push into gaming. After years of mediocre effort across PC and consoles, Microsoft is ensuring its future with a growing catalog of AAA games, and with the recent push into PC and streaming, Microsoft clearly has a solid vision of where it wants to go. On the other hand, as a consumer, I hate to see all of my once-favorite studios bought out by bigger fish, as this is rarely good for gamers in the long run with the continual loss of competition in the market. So I can’t say today’s announcement is good news, but it isn’t all that bad either, considering Activision Blizzard has had plenty of time to right the ship, so perhaps Microsoft will do Kotik’s job for him and finally start making good games again without all the horrific abuse Activision Blizzard is now known for.
Broader branding hints at wider paid-tier ambitions
The note-taking app I should have used all along
I played the opening mission of The Outer Worlds 2 and really enjoyed what I experienced
Generative AI, now poolside
Expanded dark theme is here
Storage upgrades have never been so important
