The gaming industry has been a pretty cozy place for the last decade or so. Sure, there have been plenty of high-profile acquisitions, like Google’s purchase of Twitch and Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus, but these deals only affected the peripheral bits of the industry.
What we haven’t seen is an acquisition that changes the competitive landscape at its core — until now.
Microsoft just announced it will be acquiring gaming company, Activision Blizzard, in a $5.9 billion deal.
This is a huge deal for the general gaming market because it means Microsoft will begin acquiring an internal battle royale gaming company. And it means that Activision Blizzard, which owns games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, will now have access to Microsoft’s massive cloud computing platform Azure.
Better Games and More of Them
More games are always a good thing, and with Activision Blizzard now under the Microsoft roof, we’ll most likely see even more of them. Now, many questions are surrounding this epic merger — what does it mean for the games already created by both giants? Will this lead to greater competition for PlayStation and Nintendo? What about exclusive games for Xbox One, PC, and PS4? There are a lot of things to come from this merger that will be great for the gaming community and industry as a whole. As a gamer, you don’t have much to lose but a lot to gain from this deal, which is why you should be excited about it.
Blending the Microsoft and Activision Cultures
Both companies have a history of successful game development, and they have a lot of experience in the entertainment and technology industries. Activision is best known for developing video games like Call of Duty, Skylanders, Guitar Hero, and Destiny, while Microsoft is more focused on operating systems and applications. The combined company will have a huge reach with its network of more than half a billion users.
More Games Means More Money For Developers
The merger is expected to be completed by the end of this year, but for now, both companies will continue to operate separately. Employees who work for the two companies may even need to transition from one office to another. Activision’s current CEO Bobby Kotick will remain in his position as president and CEO until July when he’ll step down to become an adviser to the new company. Current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will also stay on until July as an adviser as well.
Though the two companies are separate up until that point, they’ll be sharing resources through a joint venture in which Activision Blizzard will purchase $2 billion worth of Microsoft stock at the same time it distributes $2 billion worth of its own stock to shareholders, including Kotick and company co-founder Mike Morhaime. The goal is to “achieve efficiencies and deliver value” after the merger. If you are a fan of the following games, then you should be happy about this merger: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo III, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Starcraft II.
According to an article on IGN, Activision Blizzard is buying out Microsoft’s stake in their partnership. There may be other games that are a part of this too but these are all the ones listed in the article.
Why would anyone care? Because it means that more money can go into making better games. The deal itself is not going to change anything in how things work with these games but it will mean that developers will see more money from this deal and may be able to make some changes to how things work. Maybe we’ll see some new features or improvements to the existing features of these games. For example, what if Blizzard made Mac OS X compatible with World of Warcraft? That would certainly bring the player base up and increase the number of subscriptions they have.
Also, what if we saw an update for Overwatch on Mac OS X? I know a lot of people who play Overwatch on their Macs and they would love to see an update for their favorite game.
It’s a Changing World For The Video Game Industry
As gamers, we’ve seen the rise of interactive entertainment from Pong to Call of Duty.
Up until now, companies like Electronic Arts (EA), Activision Blizzard, and Take-Two Interactive were all competitors. But now they’re going to be under the same roof. The merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is going to change the way people view games.
To Put It Simply, This is a Great Thing For Gamers.
Why? Because competition has been a driving force in the gaming industry for many years now. This move will have developers working together on games instead of competing with each other for market share and customer loyalty. With more talent and money behind each project, gamers will get better products in the end.
The video game industry has been growing at an average rate of 10% per year since 2008 and is expected to continue that trend over the next four years. In 2015 alone, the global video game market was worth $91 billion dollars, which is more than the worldwide theatrical box office gross that year. According to techjury.net, the global gaming market is set to reach $256.97 billion by 2025. That’s almost triple in ten years!
The biggest merger in the history of gaming has finally happened. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have officially announced that they’ll be joining forces, and while gamers aren’t happy about the news, Microsoft is surely smiling. Forbes contributor Paul Tassi broke the story of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard on Wednesday, which he later confirmed with both companies.
This is a massive deal, and it’s going to have a huge impact on the future of gaming. In case you haven’t heard the details yet, here’s what this means for you and your favorite games.
The merger will take place over the course of a year, with Activision Blizzard buying back shares from current shareholders first before then selling them to Microsoft. For now, nothing changes except for the leadership – Bobby Kotick will continue as CEO of Activision Blizzard, while Brian Kelley will remain as chairman. But over time, expect Microsoft to get more involved with smaller decisions.
This is an interesting development for Microsoft – not only does it mean that they’ve secured access to some very popular gaming franchises (Call of Duty, StarCraft), but it also puts them in direct competition with their main rivals Apple and Google. The mobile space has been particularly difficult for Xbox to navigate lately due to Apple being at the forefront.
Why is this such a great deal for gamers? Well, it could usher in a New Boom in gaming as the video game industry further develops. Thanks to this merger, gamers can expect improved content, increased investment in virtual reality, and more downloadable content (DLC). Plus, there’s a major reason to be excited about new game titles. This merger means quality improvement for current popular gaming franchises and the introduction of more upcoming titles. In other words, Blizzard and Microsoft could very well be the driving force behind a new gaming Renaissance.
What do you think will happen with this deal between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft? Leave your comments below!