This is Microsoft’s 2nd biggest acquisition ever, and this changes the gaming industry forever!
In a major decision, Microsoft has decided to acquire Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest gaming companies in the world.
Why is this important for Microsoft?
Keep reading to find out more..
Microsoft Acquires Activision Blizzard For Rs 5 lakh crore
Microsoft has announced that they will be spending $68 billion or roughly Rs 5 lakh crore to acquire Activision Blizzard. This way, Microsoft will be spending $95 per share (Rs 7000) to acquire this gaming giant.
After Microsoft acquired Linkedin for $26.2 billion (roughly Rs 2 lakh crore), this is their 2nd biggest acquisition ever.
After this acquisition, Microsoft has beaten Nintendo to become the world’s 3rd biggest gaming company after Tencent and Sony.
Activision Blizzard are the makers of popular games like Candy Crush, Call of Duty and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skate. However, in the last few months, the company was involved in fighting several lawsuits for improper behavior of their employees.
After the sale is completed, the company will report to Phil Spencer, who heads Microsoft’s Xbox division. Although Activision’s current CEO Bobby Kotick will remain in his position for this phase, he will eventually step down, as per some reports.
Why Is This Acquisition Important For Microsoft?
Microsoft has been pretty aggressive in strengthening their position in the gaming industry, and this recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard is the ultimate move in this endeavor.
In 2014, Microsoft acquired Mojang for $2.5 billion. They were the makers of Minecraft. In 2021, they acquired Bethesda for $7.5 billion.
Besides, Microsoft also wants to compete against Meta (formerly Facebook), and their aggressive plans to expand their own metaverse. Microsoft certainly wants a slice of this pie.
Microsoft already sells a highly advanced augmented reality headset called HoloLens, and with the acquisition of Activision, we may witness more fireworks from Microsoft in this gaming and AR/VR niche.