Microsoft has announced the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, one of the largest game studios in the world, for $68.7 billion.
Activision Blizzard is the studio responsible for franchises such as “Overwatch”, “Diablo” and “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush”.
According to Microsoft, the acquisition makes it the third-largest video game company in the world by revenue, just behind Tencent and Sony.
“This acquisition will accelerate Microsoft’s growth in the mobile, PC, console and cloud gaming business and provide building blocks for [a construção do] metaverse,” the company said in a statement.
The deal still needs to be approved by legal bodies and Activision Blizzard’s board, but the acquisition is expected to close in 2023. Until then, the companies will operate independently.
Shares of Activision Blizzard are up more than 30% on Tuesday (18), while those of Microsoft are down 1.5%.
Gaming has been a big focus for Microsoft in recent years, particularly during the pandemic when people spent more time at home playing games. In January 2021, Microsoft had over $5 billion in revenue from games for the first time.
In addition to acquiring Activision Blizzard’s gaming portfolio and its 10,000 employees, Microsoft also aims to bring the company’s more than 400 million player base in-house.
Foco no mobile
Although Microsoft is known in the video game world mainly for its Xbox consoles, the company highlights the importance of mobile in the acquisition.
“Mobile is the biggest segment for gaming, with nearly 95% of gamers around the world enjoying games on mobile devices. With great teams and great technology, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will empower players to enjoy the most immersive franchises like ‘Halo’ and ‘Warcraft’ virtually anywhere they want.
“And with games like ‘Candy Crush,’ Activision Blizzard’s mobile business represents a major presence and opportunity for Microsoft in this fast-growing segment.”
Another great asset for Microsoft in this acquisition is the possibility of bringing Activision Blizzard games to Game Pass, the company’s subscription service and one of the flagships of the Xbox division.
For comparison, in 2021 Microsoft closed the purchase of another game studio, Bethesda. The acquisition, however, was worth almost nine times less: US$ 7.5 billion.
Crisis na Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard faces a series of allegations of moral and sexual harassment within the company.
At first, Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, will continue in the role. According to a Microsoft statement, “he and his team will remain focused on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth.”
Once the transaction is complete, however, Activision Blizzard will report to Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft’s gaming division.
Employees at Activision Blizzard had previously gone on strike asking Kotick to resign from his post because he had allegedly been aware of the company’s harassment and discrimination issues for years.
*With information from Jennifer Korn
Reference: CNN Brasil
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