Microsoft’s Massive Metaverse Move: Buying Activision For $69B

Microsoft is buying game behemoth Activision Blizzard for $69 billion as part of its gaming and metaverse expansion ambitions.

Call of Duty, Overwatch, Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater are just a few of the legendary gaming properties owned by Activision Blizzard. Following the agreement, Activision Blizzard will include its titles in Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass program, which has a subscriber base of 25 million.

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it would buy Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, for a total value of $68.7 billion. Microsoft will become the third-largest gaming firm in revenue, after Riot Games owner Tencent and PlayStation developer Sony, when the acquisition closes in 2023.

Microsoft announced that the acquisition will “offer building pieces for the Metaverse” and that it will “help the expansion of Microsoft’s services across mobile, PC, console, and cloud gaming.” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO and chairman, said:

“Today, gaming is the most dynamic and engaging category of entertainment across all platforms, and it will play a critical part in the development of metaverse platforms.”

Microsoft indicated that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick would continue to lead the company until the deal closed. Then Microsoft will pass over the reins to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.