The biggest business in the gaming industry needs to be followed by a thorough clean-up to clear the company of the bad taste in scandals and lawsuits.
Microsoft almost it has caused shocking waves throughout the video game industry, when it announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty, Overwatch and the most popular video game in history. This is the largest acquisition in the company ‘s history – and an acquisition that puts Microsoft into practice video games for Disney do. Question that what is the chance that the authorities will mow it the acquisition of Activision Blizzard?
Activision has released everything from hardcore titles like Diablo and Call of Duty to casual games like Hearthstone and Candy Crush – and now Microsoft is buying the company for $ 68.7 billion. That amount is almost ten times the $ 7.5 billion it paid in 2020 for the acquisition of Bethesda, the publisher and developer of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises.
When announcing the acquisition, Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer promised that the company would offer a number of Activision Blizzard titles on the Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, including classics from the publisher’s vast arsenal and upcoming titles. In fact even old Activision Blizzard series can be resurrected on the Xbox!
With a bottomless pocket, Microsoft will no doubt be able to support Activision Blizzard’s further development plans for titles currently battling for release, such as Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV – which will benefit franchise fans and gamers in general.
Loaded business
The upcoming acquisition of Call of Duty and Overwatch comes at an uncertain time, as Activision Blizzard is currently grappling with discrimination lawsuits and scandals surrounding the workplace culture. (Details of the Activision Blizzard scandal.) Due to the situation, CEO Bobby Kotick has been called upon several times to resign.
Although Microsoft did not comment specifically on the scandals surrounding Activision Blizzard, Spencer wrote, “As a company, Microsoft is committed to acceptance in all aspects of gaming, both among employees and gamers. We deeply appreciate stand-alone studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand in hand with treating all people with dignity and respect. “
“We expect that commitment from every team and every leader.”
Bobby Kotick will remain at the head of the publisher until the completion of the acquisition of Microsoft in 2023, the CEO said in an email sent to employees, in which he praised the publisher ‘s future through Microsoft, through which it is one step closer to realizing its own metaversion. Kotick has offered that Activision Blizzard will operate independently under Microsoft oversight after the acquisition.
Unlike other game publishers, Microsoft has allowed its acquisitions to remain autonomous without major interference. This is all true of the acquisitions of Bethesda, Obsidian, InXile and Mojang, which is developing Minecraft – but Activision Blizzard may require more intervention.
While Microsoft will shoulder the burden of the publisher and clean up the wreckage caused by the multiple, high-profile scandals, it is unclear whether Microsoft will retain much of the existing talent responsible for the situation in which Activision Blizzard is currently in. van.
In addition, the current management is dealing with the problem quite interestingly, instead of dealing with the corporate culture, introducing interesting additions and changes to its games – which threatens to continue this practice under Microsoft’s rule. Simply put, Microsoft can’t afford to buy a company already burdened with lawsuits and bad decisions and not save money. He just has to clean it up.
Big picture
What does the acquisition mean for the gaming industry as a whole? First, the Sony will be most affected by the acquisition, as much of PlayStation’s revenue comes from operating the Activision Call of Duty franchise, the company has already responded in a statement.
Should Microsoft choose to use Activision Blizzard addresses makes it platform-exclusive for Xbox and PC, Sony will be forced to create new franchises or revive old ones like Killzone and Resistance to compete with Call of Duty, the world’s most popular first-person shooter. Not to mention that Microsoft owns Minecraft and The Elder Scrolls.
The monumental acquisition of one of the world’s largest video game publishers is virtually shifting the balance of power in Microsoft’s favor. How much could Microsoft buy the other gaming giants after Activision Blizzard? It will be exciting to see how Sony and other publishers will react to the move. What times we can go through!
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