today mark a historic day for the video game industry. Nobody expected it but the news has just fallen. Microsoft is in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard. The announcement is official, since published on the Xbox site, which means that the transaction is already well advanced. In total, Microsoft will spend $69 billion to acquire the video game giant.
The news has of course talk a lot just in the space of half an hour after announcement. Here, it is not a small developer or studio that Microsoft acquires but Activision Blizzard. Despite the various affairs and scandals that the studio has experienced in recent years, he remains one of the titans of the video game industry. It’s kind of the light at the end of the tunnel for the company because regarding these cases, Microsoft specifies that Phil Spencer will now manage Acivision Blizzard. Bobby Kotick will remain CEO of the group, but shouldn’t have many other responsibilities.
An internal restructuring should follow this takeover, Activision Blizzard being very often considered to be gangrenous from the inside. “Microsoft is committed to its fight for the inclusion of all aspects of video gaming, for its employees and its players. We deeply respect the cultures of individual studios. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand in hand with treating each person with dignity and respectsays Microsoft in its announcement. This internal renewal may mark the end of worries for the American giant.
Activision Blizzard has many studios and all will be affected by this takeover. Microsoft’s Game Pass will also be expanded with many titles, MS wanting to offer as many games as possible in their catalog. This includes Overwatch (including OW2 which had been postponed), Call of Duty, Warcraft and many more…
Microsoft thus displays a desire to control the video game industry with this takeover. The company in addition to owning Xbox and many titles, holds some of the biggest licenses on the market, like Minecraft, which it bought back in 2014. Now it remains to be seen if it’s a good thing to leave the video game in the hands of a handful of large multinationals.