Activision Blizzard is expected to merge with Microsoft following a $68.7 billion (£50.4 billion) all-cash purchase. The deal is the most expensive in the games industry’s history and is expected to be finalised in 2023.
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, announced the merger in a blog post on the Xbox website this morning. Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will bring some of the world’s biggest franchises – from Call of Duty, Warcraft and Diablo to Overwatch, Hearthstone and Candy Crush – into the company’s fold. It will also boost Microsoft’s internal games development studios to 30.
Spencer said: “We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented, dedicated people across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and every team across Activision Blizzard.”
Activision Blizzard’s management has been the subject of a great deal of ire both within and outside of the industry in recent months due to allegations of misconduct towards its employees. Microsoft confirmed as part of a separate statement that Activision Blizzard’s controversial CEO Bobby Kotick will remain in his position, but clarified that once the deal is finalised then Spencer will be in charge of Activision Blizzard’s business.
“As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures,” said Spencer’s blog post. “We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment.”
Microsoft has been spending serious money on acquisitions over the past few years, setting down $7.5 billion in cash for ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks, in September 2020. The deal was completed in March 2021 and many of ZeniMax’s most popular franchises, including Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, and id Software’s Doom, have found their way onto Microsoft’s Xbox and PC Game Pass services since.
As part of the merger’s announcement, Microsoft confirmed that “both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog” would be added to Game Pass services, and that Game Pass subscriptions had now passed 25 million.
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Featured image: Microsoft
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