Microsoft has bought Activision for nearly $70 billion

Games Rader ^ | 1/18/2022 | Sam Loveridge , Ali Jones

[Houserino]

Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard, the publisher and associated developer of many titles including the Call of Duty franchise.

Announced today on an Xbox Wire post, Microsoft has agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard, which includes the development teams at 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, and Treyarch. Microsoft's purchase is set to cost $68.7 billion.

Microsoft has stated that Activision Blizzard will operate independently until the deal is complete, but Phil Spencer does note that once the deal is complete the business will report to him. In an email sent to Activision Blizzard staff (via CharlieIntel), current CEO Bobby Kotick - who is set to remain at the head of the company until the deal is finalised - said that "transactions like these can take a long time to complete," and the process is expected to end in Microsoft's 2023 financial year, which ends on June 30, 2023.

[irishjuggler]

I freakin’ loved that game, circa 1982.

Who gets custody of Kaboom??

[WMarshal]

Microsoft will milk Activision’s software assets for about five years and then the company will die to be heard from no more.

[WMarshal]

"Gaming” = gambling"

It is not the same thing. A huge potential waste your time, but not the same thing.

Why don't you say some thing as equally nonsensical such as "Don't trust anyone over 30" or "No blood for oil."

[DrGunsforHands]

The way the “remastered” Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3 turned out, it might be a blessing. At least it wasn’t EA. Still pissed about Command and Conquer 4.

[Honest Nigerian]

Except for pinball, I never got hooked by video games. So glad. The internet is just a yooge distraction!

[proust]

Same here. Got stuck in the library or something and gave up.

[T Ruth]

The market seems somewhat skeptical of this deal. Supposedly the buyout is priced at $95 per Activision share (”Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced on Tuesday its plans to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard Inc for $95 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion.”), yet the shares are trading at $82.

[dangus]

Where is the Attorney General? Microsoft has a conflict of interest in purchasing Activision, since Activision makes games for Microsoft’s console competitors. The Justice Department should require Microsoft to agree to making Activision games for other consoles. If this seems like an absurd thing to require Microsoft to do, well, yes, that’s why the acquisition smells to high Heaven like an attempt to drive Microsoft’s competitors out of business.

[dangus]

Just before reading this, I posted about this seeming like anti-competitive behavior by Microsoft. I wonder if the market DOES anticipate anti-anti-competitive action by the Justice Department.

[T Ruth]

That could be. Something seems amiss.

[T Ruth]

Supply in relation to demand. Water is essential for life, yet it is cheap because there’s lots of it.

[Houserino]

If they let basically all the oil companies turn back into trusts again in the 90s I don’t see them really stopping this either.

If there’s one business regulation that has to be enforced for the markets to work right it’s anti-trust imo.

[Sporke]

World of Warcraft is still a great game. It’s not what it was, but it’s far from being outdated.

[dangus]

I’m not sure I’d argue that the only reason for the oil mergers were restraint of trade, and not having the capital pull to compete with the newer big boys, like Saudi Aramco, Shell, BP and LukOil, which are WAY bigger.

So you’ve got Esso/Exxon + Mobil = ExxonMobil, $269 billion

And Chevron + Gulf + Texaco = Chevron, $159 billion

And Connoco + Phillips = ConocoPhilips, $39 billion

But you’ve still got Marathon ($97 billion), Phillips66 ($102 billion), Valero ($130 billion), Enterprise ($47 billion)

and then there’s the foreign companies, Saudi Aramco ($416 billion), Shell ($397 billion), Chinese National ($393 billion), BP ($304 billion), Lukoil ($144 billion), Gazprom ($119 billion)...