On January 18, Microsoft announced that they want to buy the publishing giant Activision Blizzard. This is the largest purchase in gaming history. What do you think about it and what are your hopes and fears?
This deal is about: In an announcement that shook the gaming industry, Microsoft revealed that they want to buy the publisher Activision Blizzard. They are expected to spend a whopping 68.7 billion dollars, which is by far the largest purchase in gaming history.
It is far ahead of the previous record holder Take Two, who bought the developer Zynga for 14 billion and also ahead of Microsoft’s last major acquisition. The company purchased Bethesda / Zenimax for 7.5 billion dollars in September 2020.
The purchase is expected to be completed by Activision Blizzard by the end of the financial year 2023. Until then, the publisher will continue to operate autonomously.
While many gaming fans were initially left speechless by the size of the deal, both concerned and hopeful voices have been raised since the announcement:
- Hopes include the belief that Microsoft will “clean up” at Activision Blizzard. In recent months, the publisher and its CEO Bobby Kotick have been under constant fire from sexism scandals and cheating issues in CoD Warzone. Part of the community hopes that this will change with Microsoft’s takeover.
- Concerns mainly relate to the size of Microsoft. The purchase of two major publishers in a relatively short time raises worries that the market could become too homogeneous. After all, Activision is the largest third-party publisher in gaming. Further concerns revolve around the potential for even more exclusivity in gaming or that no changes will be seen in Activision’s work culture.
We want to know how the MeinMMO readers view the situation. Let us know.
How you can vote: This time we have a double poll for you that you can see further down in the tools. In each of them you can check up to 4 answers that apply to your hopes or fears. However, the choice cannot be undone.
So go ahead: What do you expect from the planned deal? Do you think the purchase is good or bad? Are your expectations more positive or negative? Or do you want to wait and see? After all, the final implementation will still take some time.
Let us know in the comments and have fun voting.
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