The Historic Acquisition of Activision Blizzard is a Boon to Microsoft’s Expansion into Metaverse
Even though the crypto market seems to be entering the second “winter” season, the interest towards the metaverse that consists of blockchain-based decentralized applications is growing more intense. Not wanting to remain on the sidelines, Microsoft has carried out a massive acquisition that will fuel its metaverse ambitions.
Table of contents:
- Microsoft confirms the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
- The cross-platform growth and participation in the metaverse.
Microsoft confirms the acquisition of Activision Blizzard
Only a few weeks into 2022 and we already have the event that can reshape the gaming industry and have a profound effect on the development of the metaverse. Microsoft announced in its press release from January 18 that it’s set to acquire Activision Blizzard, a major video game development company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Those who play video games even for recreational purposes are surely familiar with such titles as Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga, etc. Most of you probably spent hours grinding through one of these games or even betted on the outcome of a clash between professional esports teams.
Microsoft revealed that it agreed to pay $95 per share that is traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI. We should note that it’s a significant overpayment on the part of Microsoft since this particular stock is presently traded at $79 per share, with the all-time high being at $103, so the software corporation bought the stock only 7.8% cheaper than its historic high. Therefore, Microsoft has splashed out a solid $69 billion for a chance to compete against Chinese Tencent that owns Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, and Sony that is also Microsoft’s direct adversary in the area of gaming consoles production, the famous PlayStation vs. Xbox rivalry. The acquisition is said to be finalized sometime next year.
The cross-platform growth and participation in the metaverse
Satya Nadella, the CEO and chairman of the multinational tech corporation, explained that the acquisition will facilitate the expansion of Microsoft’s services across multiple platforms and the formation of the universal virtual world of the future called the metaverse. In his words, “Gaming…will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” which is clearly where Microsoft is aiming.
The deal stipulates that Bobby Kotick, the CEO of the game development company, will retain his post until the acquisition is finalized. Upon that, these duties will be transferred to Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming. But according to reports, the Activision employees are disgruntled because they reckon that Kotick has been undeservedly given a soft exit despite his subpar performance. Spencer noted that the addition of Activision’s super popular franchises will be instrumental in realizing Microsoft’s plans regarding cloud gaming that will allow playing modern video games on all devices. However, he didn’t lay out the roadmap of the corporation's entrance into the metaverse and didn’t say anything specific about the rumored adoption of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).