Microsoft has completed its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the makers of iconic gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. This historic deal, initially blocked by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), represents a new era for the gaming industry and a further consolidation of tech giants.
THE MICROSOFT ACTIVISION BLIZZARD DEAL
The merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard has been along-awaited, with the technology behemoth eventually taking control over Activision Blizzard for a record-breaking $68.7 billion, marking it the most significant acquisition in video game history. With this takeover, Microsoft will now control illustrious game franchises like Call of Duty, Diablo, and World of Warcraft. This merger is an enormous boon for Xbox, particularly its Game Pass subscription service, and stands to augment its content library dramatically.
It also offers Microsoft the possibility to make any Activision Blizzard titles Xbox exclusives which could prove a major blow for the PlayStation brand, although with certain pre-existing exclusivity deals respected. What’s perhaps most interesting about this, though, is that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed he’d “love” to get rid of console game exclusives on Xbox but blamed PS5 maker Sony for “defining the market and competition”.
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