Breaking News! Microsoft Is Buying Activision Blizzard!

Yes, that’s right, Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard. Talk about making waves in the video game industry.

The news of this massive forthcoming acquisition was announced by Microsoft earlier today. While it will take a few months for the deal to go through, it cannot be understated how much of a huge deal this is.

At this time, no price on the deal has been announced. When Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media the deal was around $7.5 billion. However, it is believed that the Activision Blizzard deal is worth around $68.7 billion!

Today is a historic moment. We are excited to announce that the world-renowned franchises and talented people at @ATVI_AB will be joining Team Xbox!

Full announcement details here: https://t.co/RwF0QgXVwE pic.twitter.com/jIXuYCcndG

— Xbox (@Xbox) January 18, 2022

So, this means that Microsoft will soon own franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, StarCraft and much more. Furthermore, the following studios will fall under Microsoft’s umbrella: “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 has come under a lot of scrutinies lately, from abuse of employees, sexual harassment, bullying and more. It will be interesting to see how long current Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stays in power. It is believed that he will still remain at the company until 2023.

“As a team, we are on a mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet,” said Microsoft in a statement. “We all know that gaming is the most vibrant and dynamic form of entertainment worldwide and we’ve experienced the power of social connection and friendship that gaming makes possible.”

Microsoft added: “Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.”

This is of course great news for Xbox Game Pass because it means that Activision’s rich back catalogue of games will also be available via the subscription service.

Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalogue. We also announced today that Game Pass now has more than 25 million subscribers. As always, we look forward to continuing to add more value and more great games to Game Pass.

The fantastic franchises across Activision Blizzard will also accelerate our plans for Cloud Gaming, allowing more people in more places around the world to participate in the Xbox community using phones, tablets, laptops and other devices you already own. Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms, and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward.

This in particular could have a massive impact on the Call of Duty series. Though I suspect that Microsoft will at least keep this series multiplatform for the foreseeable future as it’s one of the most popular multiplayer games in the industry and a huge moneymaker.

Microsoft concluded the statement by further addressing the issues that have plagued Activision Blizzard in recent years.

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. 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. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.

What are your thoughts on this huge deal? Let us know across our social media channels.

Featured Image Credit: Microsoft