Microsoft has announced that it is about to finalize the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the sixth largest video game publisher in the world. The amount of the operation amounts to 68.7 billion dollars.
It is an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude that has just shaken the video game industry. Microsoft officially announces that it is finalizing the acquisition of the Activison Blizzard group, publisher of the famous series call of duty, Warcraft, or candy Crush, for the trifle of 68.7 billion dollars. By doing so, the company expects to become the third largest player in the video game industry, behind Tencent and Sony. In 2020, the Activision Blizzard group alone occupied sixth place in this same ranking, with 8.09 billion dollars in turnover. Completion of the transaction is expected during Microsoft’s 2023 fiscal year — between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.
Among the many possibilities offered by this acquisition, Microsoft of course underlines its intention to bring Activision and Blizzard games into its Xbox Game Pass offer. The operation will also be an opportunity for the Redmond company to considerably strengthen its presence in the mobile gaming segment, since it also includes the acquisition of King, the third branch of the Activision Blizzard group, a specialist in this market.
Bobby Kotick retained as general manager, despite business
This takeover comes after several very complicated months for Activision Blizzard, up to its neck in cases of institutionalized sexism and ill-treatment of its employees. This situation had even prompted Phil Spencer, big boss of the Xbox division at Microsoft, to express in an email sent to all his collaborators, his intention to “reassessing all aspects of [sa] relationship with Activision Blizzard”. However, the press release from Microsoft specifies that Bobby Kotick, the very unloved and heckled general manager of the publisher, will be well maintained in his post, and placed under the direct authority of … Phil Spencer.