Microsoft is acquiring game maker Activision Blizzard, the deal is worth nearly $60 billion. The takeover comes at an exciting time. The game company has been under fire for months over allegations of inappropriate behavior.
The US stock watchdog SEC is in September launched an investigationt to the game maker, the supervisor wants to know whether the company has reported discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace in a timely manner. Yesterday the company reported dozens more employees fired for inappropriate behavior. Company announced this summer already taking measures to prevent intimidation. The CEO of Activision, Bobby Kotick, may remain despite all the vicissitudes. Tech site The Verge keep in mind that, once the deal is finalized and the transition period is over, he will still leave.
The game publisher is known for titles like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch in Call of Duty. The company employs nearly 10,000 people worldwide. When the acquisition is complete, Activision Blizzard’s games will be added to Microsoft’s game subscription, which now has more than 25 million users. Activision’s games are played by nearly 400 million people every month.
Bet on the metaverse
The problems have therefore not prevented Microsoft from taking over. “This accelerates the growth of our game offerings for mobile, PC, consoles and online, as well as providing building blocks for the metaverse,” Microsoft said in a statement. According to the software giant, this acquisition will make the company the third player in the gaming market after Sony and Tencent.
Over the past few months, the focus has been grown enormously for the metaverse. It is seen as perhaps the successor to the current internet. At this point, it’s just an idea, but one that Silicon Valley is taking very seriously. In the metaverse, the digital and physical worlds are even more intertwined. It is also expected that both augmented and virtual reality glasses will be more important in the development of the metaverse. The same goes for gaming.
There is a chance that the competition regulator in the US, the United Kingdom or the EU will take a critical look at the deal. More than before, (big) deals in the tech world are closely monitored due to fears of abuse of market power.
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