This deal will play a role in the development of "metaverse" platforms.
On Tuesday, announcements were made stating that Microsoft Corp. is looking to acquire Activision Blizzard (the makers of Call of Duty) for $68.7 billion in what could be a historic and record-breaking deal. It will be the biggest gaming industry deal ever, as well as the largest all-cash acquisition on record.
"Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms," Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said. "We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community, and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive, and accessible to all."
This "metaverse" Nadella references is part of Meta (Facebook's parent company) and is a virtual and augmented reality space where people can work, play, and socialize. In fact, Facebook is so committed that it changed its name to Meta late last year.
When Candy Crush and CoD become your actual job. Microsoft x Activision Blizzard. 🎮❤️📱https://t.co/nw4cLoaoTB pic.twitter.com/QPGt9DC2jF
— Microsoft (@Microsoft) January 18, 2022
Microsoft plans to add many of Activision’s games to Xbox Game Pass once the deal is finalized. With the acquisition, Microsoft will soon be able to publish franchises like Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Candy Crush.
"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 catalog," said Microsoft’s CEO of gaming Phil Spencer.
Currently, Xbox Game Pass has 25 million subscribers.
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