Yeah, Activision Blizzard has seen better days. Its consistent sexual harassment charges continue to flow; its staff continues to strike, and Bobby Kotick and his staff don’t seem to be doing too much about it. But…there’s a good chance that Microsoft will.
In a landmark deal announced on the Xbox page just a little bit ago, the company has announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard and its mobile subsidiary at King (Candy Crush) for a whopping $68.9 billion. This includes all the companies’ respective franchises, including Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, and more.
So How’s It Work?
The companies will continue to operate independently as the acquisition goes through. However, Microsoft has made one thing clear – this is about making the company something right for the community once more.
“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,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft, in a press statement. “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.”
Benefits To Xbox Game Pass
The deal follows the previous acquisition of Bethesda. It now gives Xbox Game Pass even more ammunition than ever before. The company currently offers a few Activision titles on the service. No doubt be more to come, like Crash 4: It’s About Time!, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Remastered, and, eventually, Call of Duty: Vanguard. Microsoft also confirmed that the service currently stands at 25 million subscribers, with more to come.
“As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming. Among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures and also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person, with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard,” the company noted.
But, again, this brings up one concerning question – what will happen to Activision Blizzard leadership. Not too many people are fond of CEO Bobby Kotick. Hopefully, Microsoft can put its best foot forward and make something better from it.
The Future…?
One thing’s for sure. The exclusivity of Call of Duty, not to mention what’s to come with Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV. Things just got a whole lot more interesting.
Also, will BlizzCon now blend with QuakeCon into one big Xbox smorgasbord event once everything comes back? We’ll have to see.
In addition, Microsoft also confirmed a new Gaming Leadership team for the Xbox division. CEO Phil Spencer is in charge and includes prominent members like Cynthia Per-Lee, Matt Booty, and Ashley McKissick. We wish them luck moving forward in the future.
So, then, how about a Spyro sequel, guys…?
