Desk Report
Publish: 18 Jan 2022, 10:58 pm
Big Bet on The Metaverse
Activision Blizzard || Photo: Collected
Microsoft agreed on Tuesday to
buy Activision Blizzard, the video game maker behind hits like Call of Duty and
Candy Crush, for $68.7 billion in cash. It is the largest takeover in
Microsoft’s 46-year history and a big bet on its future direction.
The deal plants Microsoft’s flag
in the emerging battle for dominance in the so-called metaverse, the
next-generation internet that melds the traditional online world with virtual
and augmented reality.
It is also a challenge to
regulators in Washington, as Democrats and Republicans alike have pushed to
limit the power of technology giants.
In buying Activision, which faced
accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination that senior executives
ignored, Microsoft appears to be rebuffing a controversy about the game maker’s
workplace culture. The allegations have weighed on Activision, with its shares
falling 27% since California sued the company in July over the matter.
The transaction may be seen as a
victory for Bobby Kotick, Activision’s longtime CEO, whom some critics had
sought to oust over the controversy. Kotick negotiated a big premium for
investors — Microsoft is paying $95 a share, roughly 45% above his company’s
stock price before the announcement — and will continue running the company.
Microsoft would gain Activision’s
nearly 400 million monthly gaming users and access to some of the world’s most
popular games, which are expected to form a cornerstone of the metaverse.
Combining with Microsoft will also give Activision access to a vast array of
artificial intelligence and another programming talent.
It would give Microsoft a
significant boost in particular against Facebook, whose renaming of its parent
company to Meta underscored its commitment to the metaverse. Adding Activision
could bolster the virtual reality offerings from Microsoft’s Xbox unit as it
competes with Facebook’s Oculus system.
“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,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s
CEO, said in a statement.
The deal would also drastically
transform Microsoft. Despite owning Xbox and the studios behind Minecraft and
Halo, the company has remained largely focused on corporate users for software
like Office 365 and especially Azure, its cloud-computing business that
competes with the likes of Amazon and Google.
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Topic : Microsoft Antivision
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