The classic PUBG: Battlegrounds map Erangel that started the battle royale craze will return for a limited time next month, PUBG Studios announced today...
Microsoft confirms buyout of Activision Blizzard
Butcher79
Microsoft has shocked the gaming world with its planned buyout of Activision Blizzard after a difficult period for developer management.
The news comes as Activision Blizzard has had to put out legal fires, with allegations leveled against their work environment, leading to company strikes and falling stock prices.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier shared some information about the shock deal on Jan. 17, citing a Wallstreet Journal report.
He said: "The WSJ reports that Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard, the troubled publisher of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, which has been in crisis over the past year following multiple reports of sexual misconduct and discrimination."
The “seismic gaming deal,” as Jason puts it, represents a massive power shift in the industry.
Microsoft confirms takeover of Activision Blizzard
Soon after this Microsoft confirmed the deal and ambitions of the company.
On its official website, the company stated: “Today, Microsoft Corp. announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc., a leader in game development and publisher of interactive entertainment content.
"This acquisition will accelerate the growth of Microsoft's gaming business across mobile, PC, consoles and the cloud and provide the building blocks for the metaverse."
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, confirmed that the takeover will be completed in June 2023.
World of Warcraft is one of many games developed by Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft said in a statement: “When the deal closes, Microsoft will be the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue behind Tencent and Sony. The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from Activision, Blizzard and King such as Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in addition to global esports activities through Major League Gaming . The company has studios around the world with nearly 10 employees."
Xbox Game Pass has been a huge beneficiary of games from Bethesda since Microsoft's buyout of the emerging studio in March 2021.
“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the evolution of the Metaverse platforms,” said Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft.
“We are investing heavily in world-class content, the 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 everyone.”
Bobby Kotick responded to the Microsoft buyout
CEO Bobby Kotick shared next email with Blizzard staff on January 18th.
It says: “Today is an incredibly exciting day. As we continue our journey of connecting and engaging the world through epic entertainment, we will eventually make it as part of Microsoft.
"I'm confident that our incredible talent and extraordinary gaming, coupled with our shared commitment to the very best workplace, will see us grow in an increasingly competitive race for dominance as games evolve across the metaverse."
Explaining why Microsoft was the perfect suitor, he added: “When looking at possible partners, all roads eventually lead to Microsoft. Like us, they have been making games for a long time. Microsoft has already distributed games to hundreds of millions of computers and computing devices around the world and has the technology and innovation to power the next generation of games."
Kitty leaving Activision Blizzard?
Included in an email sent out across the company, Kotick reaffirmed his commitment to Activision Blizzard. It would seem that he is in it for a long time.
“Such transactions can take a long time. Until we receive all necessary regulatory approvals and other normal closing conditions, which we expect to be sometime in Microsoft's fiscal year 2023 ending June 30, 2023, we will continue to operate fully autonomously.
He concluded by saying, "I will continue as our CEO with the same passion and enthusiasm that I had when I started this amazing journey in 1991."
Now, fans of several franchises will be wondering if their ability to play Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and other games will also be affected in the future. Well, that remains to be seen.
Was the article helpful?
