Diablo, Warcraft, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Overwatch, call of duty, candy Crush and also The Lost Vikings (that we don’t want to forget)… These big names in video games, united until now under the aegis of Activision Blizzard, could soon wear the colors of… Microsoft.
Nearly $70 billion
The tech giant, and jostled player in the video game world, whose strategy has been hesitant in recent years, has just announced its intention to buy the former world number 1 in video games, Activision Blizzard.
The transaction, if validated by the competition authorities, will be for no less than 68.7 billion dollars. A transaction that values Activision Blizzard at $95 per share, in cash only. Proof if needed that Microsoft has deep, very deep pockets.
Once validated, the new entity will make Microsoft the third video game player in the world, behind the Chinese Tencent and its arch-enemy, Sony. No less than 10,000 employees will join Microsoft around the world. And no less than three franchises worth more than a billion dollars that will fall into his hands. In total, Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, will have under his command no less than thirty internal development studios.
An extremely enriched offer
Enough to bring a lot of grain to grind to Microsoft’s game offer, whether on PC, Xbox or in the Cloud. This will certainly be an opportunity for the Redmond giant, which had already got its hands on Zenimax Media, in September 2020, for 7.5 billion dollars, to beef up its catalog of exclusives, permanent or temporary.
Moreover, the emblematic titles of Activision Blizzard should very quickly appear in the Game Pass, which now has 25 million subscribers. According to Microsoft’s press release, Activision Blizzard currently has 400 million active players worldwide. Dizzying numbers.
But the new entity also seems to want to focus more on mobile gaming, and the presence of King, original owner of Candy Crush, and former king of smartphone gaming, should help in this regard. Even if the Cloud will also be a means of bringing AAA to our mobiles.
But in addition to the famous studios that carry the many known franchises, it is also a way for Microsoft to get their hands on a very developed, if not necessarily flourishing, e-sports activity.
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The information, which was made official recently by Microsoft via a press release on its site, was revealed by the wall street journal, a few minutes early.
Bobby Kotick, much-maligned CEO of Activision Blizzard, will remain in place, reporting directly to Phil Spencer. The fact that Bobby Kottick remains may seem surprising given his questionable handling of sexual harassment cases in his company.
The redemption procedure should take many months. Microsoft hopes that it will be completed during the 2023 financial year. The competent competition authorities around the world will indeed have to decide on this colossal operation.
Source: Microsoft