The acquisition is facing some big hurdles
Microsoft, one of the biggest software companies in the world, is trying to buy Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest video game publishers in the world. An official announcement was made in 2022 and since then the narrative surrounding the effort has shifted in some interesting ways. The result of this process will have profound effects on the video game industry and the wider world.
It all kicked off a little over one year ago. On 18 January 2022, Microsoft surprised the world of gaming by announcing that it was seeking a deal to buy Activision Blizzard and bring them under the Xbox division for the massive sum of 68.7 billion dollars, all of it in cash.
These basic facts have not changed, even as rivals like Sony have sought to stop the deal, while regulators from across the world are moving to scrutinize it. The purchase could be closed as soon as this summer but there’s also the possibility that major changes to the terms. The entire effort could also lead to nothing if governments oppose it and negotiations do not produce results.
What should a regular gamer think about this massive potential deal? It depends on a lot of factors and on how interested one is in the products the two companies create. Anyone who likes the Activision Blizzard slate of experiences should want the company to ditch its current leadership, which is plainly morally corrupt and mostly business incompetent.
Bobby Kotick and his associates have presided over the years when the publisher’s biggest franchises were deeply affected by cost overruns, reduced sales, botched announcements and releases, loss of licenses, and severed partnerships. World of Warcraft and Hearthstone are no longer playable in China, a huge market. Call of Duty had more than one bad year and only recovered with a new Modern Warfare in 2022. Diablo IV is still not out, and these are just a few examples of the company’s business problems.
And then, there’s the moral side of things. Activision Blizzard was rocked by multiple scandals involving inappropriate behavior from executives.
