Microsoft announced its plans to purchase Activision Blizzard, the enormous video game company behind “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Candy Crush” and more, on Jan. 18. The $68 billion purchase will make Microsoft the third largest video game company behind Tencent and Sony, pushing their Xbox brand to the top of a $175 billion industry.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer announced the acquisition is part of Microsoft’s larger foray into the meta verse since “gaming will be at the forefront of making that mainstream.” The meta verse is an experiential, virtual-reality world seen by some tech companies as the future of the Internet.
For now, Activision Blizzard will transform Xbox into a force of mobile gaming while also strengthening its grip on console and PC gaming. Microsoft’s takeover gives them access to over 30 gaming studios, heavily beefing up their content production. Xbox now owns the best-selling shooter franchise of all time with “Call of Duty,” which is historically the rival of Xbox’s flagship franchise, “Halo.” In addition to, those two shooters, Xbox owns “Overwatch,” “Doom,” “Wolfenstein,” “Gears of War” and “Quake,” making them the definitive home of video-game shooters.
Xbox announced that as many Activision Blizzard games as possible will be included with their Xbox Game Pass subscription, making the $10-$15 per month service even more attractive for gamers on a budget. The service currently grants access to stream over 100 games for Xbox or PC. Phil Spencer announced his intentions to make Game Pass the key to Xbox’s future, and the addition of billion-dollar franchises like “Call of Duty” and “Starcraft” could bring those goals closer to fruition.
Xbox also announced while some Activision Blizzard games will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, some games will remain available to other platforms. They did not say which games will be exclusive. Microsoft announced the same with their purchase of Bethesda in September 2020 for $7.5 billion. “Redfall” and “Starfield” were changed to exclusive releases, with Phil Spencer saying that games would be sold elsewhere on a case-by-case basis.
Starting in July, Activision Blizzard has been embroiled with controversy over accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination following a suit by the California government. Male employees and senior executives routinely harassed female employees while ignoring their complaints. The aftermath led to severe mental trauma for many victims. Critics of Microsoft’s purchase now see the acquisition as a golden parachute for Activision Blizzard executives who are now reaping millions from their discriminatory practices.
One question many fans are wondering is if Microsoft is approaching monopoly status, and whether Activision Blizzard is too large of a purchase for the government to allow. Microsoft is currently behind Apple as the second-highest valued company in the world at $2.3 trillion. The combination of Xbox, Windows, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard gives Microsoft access to billions of players on every video game platform. However, for Microsoft to be a monopoly worthy of being broken up, the U.S. government will need to investigate Sony, Apple, Disney and many other conglomerates for the same reasons.