Microsoft’s announcement that it is purchasing Activision Blizzard has the gaming community in a frenzy. Activision Blizzard is a video game holding company that is a leader in game development and an interactive content developer. This acquisition includes Candy Crush developer and publisher King, and that IP will also be owned by Microsoft, under which already lies a massive collection from Halo to Minecraft to Fallout. This deal could immediately provide Microsoft with a huge audience in the mobile gaming space.
The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. This deal is stated to involve an all-cash transaction valued at $ 68.7 Billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard’s net cash.
Their past struggles in the mobile gaming space haven’t held them back
Although Microsoft has seemingly struggled in the mobile gaming space with its shut down of Minecraft Earth and closing of smartphone racer Forza Street, Microsoft’s most notable mobile games have been Minecraft and Fallout Shelter, post which the company’s efforts in mobile have been focused on making Xbox games playable on your phone via xCloud.
As mobile is a large segment in gaming, Activision Blizzard’s business provides Microsoft with immense growth in the gaming business across mobile phones, PC’s, consoles, cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.
Are they making video games accessible to all or the opposite?
Although this is beneficial for Microsoft bringing it to the big leagues with the biggest acquisition in the video game sectors history, but there are questions as to if Microsoft will make future Activision products exclusive to their own Xbox consoles and Windows-powered computers, making it difficult for their rival, i.e., PlayStation hardware produced by Sony. This doubt towards Microsoft isn’t uncalled for. In 2020, when Microsoft acquired Zenimax, a publisher with several studios and a full portfolio with a plethora of popular game series, their forthcoming games were exclusive to Microsoft’s own consoles. So, one can imagine the doubts on whether Microsoft’s stated aim to make video games more accessible was genuine or more gated towards shutting down the market on their rivals.
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