Microsoft agreed to buy Activision Blizzard Inc. in a $68.7 billion deal, uniting two of the biggest influences in the video games industry to create the world’s third-biggest gaming company.
As part of the deal, Activision Blizzard’s popular titles and franchises such as Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush will come under Microsoft’s.
Microsoft said its deal for Activision will permit gamers to enjoy hit titles like Halo and Warcraft “virtually anywhere they want.” Activision’s mobile business represents a “significant presence and opportunity” for Microsoft.
It is going to help Xbox to support more popular titles. Microsoft also gets new active users, taking from Activision Blizzard’s nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and three billion-dollar franchises.
Activision Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as it is, for now, afterwords probably, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, who was promoted along with the deal to CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
Nadella in a note to employees said. “Gaming has been key to Microsoft since our earliest days as a company", “Today, it’s the largest and fastest-growing form of entertainment, and as the digital and physical worlds come together, it will play a critical role in the development of metaverse platforms.”
But this deal is not completed yet, Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal is expected to be finalised in the fiscal year 2023. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies.