Microsoft Buying Call Of Duty Maker Activision Blizzard For $68.7 Billion
In a big push to its gaming ambitions, tech giant Microsoft on Tuesday announced it is going to buy Call of Duty maker and US gaming giant Activision Blizzard.
New Delhi: In a big push to its gaming ambitions, tech giant Microsoft on Tuesday announced it is going to buy Call of Duty maker and US gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, in an all-cash transaction. This move would make Microsoft the third-largest gaming firm by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. This acquisition is also likely to accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.
“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft, said in a statement. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, 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 all," he added.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, inclusive of Activision Blizzard’s net cash. The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from Activision, Blizzard and King studios like “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 almost 10,000 employees.
“Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them,” said Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming. “Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”
Activision Blizzard's Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as its CEO and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth. Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
“For more than 30 years our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard.
This acquisition would give a boost to Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 25 million subscribers. Upon close, Microsoft will have 30 internal game development studios, along with additional publishing and esports production capabilities.
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