One of the most shocking and bizarre news stories to come out this week in gaming is quite possibly the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for $68.7 billion. We now have more news coming in from Microsoft and Xbox in regards to the recent purchase of the gaming giant.
Speaking in a conference call, the chairman and CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, shared his thoughts in regards to the recent purchase. He started by expressing his feelings about gaming as a whole in the current year and the coming future, and how Microsoft and Xbox want to create their version of the metaverse, saying: “When we think about our vision for what a metaverse can be, we believe there won’t be a single, centralized metaverse and there shouldn’t be. We need to support many metaverse platforms, as well as a robust ecosystem of content, commerce, and applications.”
Nadella believes that the Activision acquisition allows for an incredible opportunity to create the best community for gamers, and build substantial value for shareholders. The purchase also significantly expands Microsoft’s presence in mobile gaming, which, according to Nadella, is the largest segment in gaming. He is also determined to bring as many Activision Blizzard titles as possible to Game Pass subscriptions across all platforms.
“Critically, this transaction significantly expands our presence in mobile, the largest segment in gaming business,” Nadella said. “Activision Blizzard’s King division is one of the global leaders in mobile gaming. And we will bring as many Activision Blizzard games as we can to our Game Pass subscription service across the PC, console and mobile, including both new games, as well as games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalogue, offering even better value and more choice for our gamers.”
Satya Nadella briefly also talked about organizational cultures, saying that it is their number one priority and that they are committed to and supportive of building a safe and inclusive culture for everyone, be it for the community, or the employees, with Activision Blizzard. He said: “We are committed to protecting players and empowering our employees to do what they love while thriving in a safe and inclusive culture, one where everyone is invited to play. The success of this acquisition will depend on it. ”
Nadella closed his address by sharing a few more details on the acquisition, saying that the acquisition is expected to close in the fiscal year of 2023, and when it is done, all the businesses of Activision Blizzard will be reporting to Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming and head of Xbox.
Hopefully, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft improves and addresses the underlying issues the company has had over the years and builds a stronger base for them soon.