Because $68.7 billion forms a pretty enormous gaming empire.
Microsoft on Tuesday announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for US$95 per share, bringing the total valuation to US$68.7 billion, on Tuesday. The deal includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios such as “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush.”
The deal, when complete, would make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in the world, by revenue, with only Sony and Tencent ahead of them.
The company has studios around the word with nearly 10,000 employees. In addition to the above franchises it includes global eSports activities through Major League Gaming.
Bobby Kotick will remain CEO of Activision Blizzard and will report to Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, offered the following:
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. 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.
Microsoft also announced that Activision Blizzard games will be included in the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which offers a rotating catalog of games from a variety of publishers. The addition of Activision Blizzard’s nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and three billion-dollar franchises would bolster the service’s game lineup.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, completion of regulatory review, and Activision Blizzard’s shareholder approval, and expected to close in fiscal year 2023. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via The Mac Observer and Microsoft