Microsoft has announced that it will acquire Activision Blizzard for US$68.7 billion, bringing together two of the most powerful forces in the video gaming industry.
For one of the biggest gaming publishers in the United States, Microsoft will pay US$95 per share in cash for Activision, which is known for titles such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft but is also undergoing a cultural shift over its treatment of women. This will be Microsoft’s largest acquisition to date.
According to Microsoft, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick will continue to serve in that position in the future. Following the completion of the transaction, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Mr Phil Spencer, the president of Microsoft Gaming.
Incorporating Activision’s popular games into the Xbox system will allow Microsoft to enhance its own offering and better compete with Sony’s PlayStation.
The Xbox and Activision have a long and illustrious history together. The success of the publisher’s most popular brand, Call of Duty, may be attributed in large part to Microsoft’s groundbreaking online platform Xbox Live, which allows users to join and compete in multiplayer games.
The majority of Activision’s games are released on Xbox gaming systems. According to a statement released by Microsoft on Tuesday, the acquisition will “accelerate the expansion of Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console, and cloud platforms, as well as providing building blocks for the metaverse.”
Activision, one of the industry’s most storied publishers, has been embroiled in controversy for months, as a result of a series of lawsuits filed against the company over allegations of gender discrimination and harassment.
Mr. Kotick, who has been the company’s president for three decades, has been under increasing pressure from his staff to step down from his position. The controversy has taken a toll on a corporation that is already struggling to adjust to the end of a video game boom that was fueled by a pandemic.
Earlier this month, Activision announced the postponement of two of its most anticipated titles and provided an earnings outlook that fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts for the fourth quarter. The news sent Activision’s stock tumbling.
