Activision Blizzard is the biggest gaming studio in the world, with a combined library of some of the most successful and longest-standing brands in gaming industry history. These include Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Diablo series, to name a few.
Microsoft is taking over Blizzard. In a letter to the staff, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer states that the two companies coming together will help accelerate their mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone. After a brief bidding war, the two companies have come to a deal. The purchase is worth $68.7 billion, and Activision Blizzard will join Microsoft’s family of subsidiaries.
The acquisition is a significant milestone for Microsoft since the company has been looking to improve their portfolio of subsidiaries. Microsoft will also gain access to several patents owned by Activision Blizzard, giving them an edge over Sony and Nintendo in the home console market. This will turn out to be a monopoly Microsoft has created in the gaming industry.
The IPs that Microsoft is taking over represent a massive opportunity for the company to produce even more AAA gaming franchises for the Xbox brand. Some analysts believe this will ruin many smaller gaming studios as they are now locked out from competing with Activision Blizzard.
The purchase could have an impact on future games. The possibility of this gaming studio becoming an Xbox exclusive could make Microsoft billions of dollars. Right now, they are only going to be exclusive on the PC, but if Microsoft starts developing new games that are exclusive only to the Xbox, this will hurt Sony, which currently has a monopoly on the PS4. Microsoft could also use Activision to create complete video games for the PC, so they don’t have to spend as much money making them for the Xbox.
Website: https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/
