EA CEO Says Microsoft and Activision Blizzard Deal Is Great For Gaming
EA is still one of Microsoft's biggest partners.
By George Yang on
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said that he believes the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard merger is good for the video game industry.
In an interview with CNBC, Wilson said, «I think that Microsoft-Activision is a great thing. It means that one of the world’s largest companies is going to continue to invest in our industry, to help us grow the industry over time.»
He added that EA would benefit from this merger disproportionally, as it is one of the few big independent companies left now that Activision is owned by Microsoft. He noted that EA has world-class IP and a community of 700 million players.
Wilson was also asked about whether EA would get acquired. Instead of answering that question, however, Wilson spoke about EA acquiring studios itself. «And to the extent that there are opportunities for us to be inquisitive, we would of course look at those,» Wilson explained. «Where it might add new IP or add new teams, or add new technology, or it might add to our ability to grow the amount of people in our network and grow the engagement that they have in our network.»
Back in May, Wilson spoke indifferently to the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard merger, but now has changed his tune. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick hinted that Microsoft wasn't the only company that was interested in an acquisition--EA itself was reportedly interested as well.
EA was reportedly pursuing a merger with NBC Universal, but apparently the deal fell apart due to disagreements surrounding price and structure.
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