Microsoft made waves yesterday with an announcement to become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.
The company has plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher, in an all-cash transaction valued at US$68.7 B. The acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse, Microsoft said.
The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in addition to global e-sports activities through Major League Gaming. Activision Blizzard has studios around the world with nearly 10,000 employees.
Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth. Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming.
“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,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft.
“We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”
“Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them,” said Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming.
“Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”
“For more than 30 years our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard.
“The combination of Activision Blizzard’s world-class talent and extraordinary franchises with Microsoft’s technology, distribution, access to talent, ambitious vision and shared commitment to gaming and inclusion will help ensure our continued success in an increasingly competitive industry.”
Mobile is the largest segment in gaming, with nearly 95% of all players globally enjoying games on mobile. With games like Candy Crush, nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and three billion-dollar franchises, Activision Blizzard´s mobile business represents a significant presence and opportunity. The two companies will empower players to enjoy franchises like Halo and Warcraft virtually anywhere they want as well.
The acquisition also bolsters Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio. There are plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 25 million subscribers. Upon close, Microsoft will have 30 internal game development studios, along with additional publishing and e-sports production capabilities.
The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard and is subject to customary closing conditions and completion of regulatory review and Activision Blizzard’s shareholder approval. The deal is expected to close in fiscal year 2023.
Fast facts on gaming
- The US$200+ B gaming industry is the largest and fastest-growing form of entertainment.
- In 2021, the total number of video game releases was up 64% compared to 2020
- Some 3 billion people globally play games today, which Microsoft expects to grow to 4.5 billion by 2030.
- More than 100 million gamers, including over 25 million Xbox Game Pass members, play Xbox games across console, PC, mobile phones and tablets each month.
No comments:
Post a Comment