Microsoft are buying Activision Blizzard for $69 billion

rockpapershotgun.com:

In the wake of scandal and lawsuits alleging a culture of discrimination and harrassment at Activision Blizzard, Microsoft today announced they're buying the company. Wait, hang on. What. That's not what I expected when Xbox head Phil Spencer told staff he was "evaluating all aspects of [Xbox's] relationship" with Activision Blizzard. Microsoft plan to pay $68.7 billion (£50 billion) for the company, which will nab them games including Warcraft, Call Of Duty, and Overwatch. Jesus.

Pending approval from shareholders and authorities, Microsoft will buy up Activision Blizzard in a cash deal valued at $68.7 billion [almost nice -ed.]. They'll pick up video game series including Call Of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Candy Crush, Starcraft, and Diablo, along with 10,000 employees at studios and arms including Blizzard Entertainment, Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Raven Software, Toys For Bob, Sledgehammer Games, King, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Radical Entertainment, and Major League Gaming. They expect the deal to close in their 2023 fiscal year, so by the end of June 2023.

Microsoft say once everything's settled, they "will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard's incredible catalog."

This a huge jump in the consolidation of the video games industry. Microsoft's announcement says they "will become the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony." They add that buying ABK will feed into their cloud gaming push and "will provide building blocks for the metaverse". Can't forgot the M-word when you're talking to investors.

Activision Blizzard will report to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, but Bobby