{"id":14025,"date":"2022-01-20T15:40:13","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T13:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=14025"},"modified":"2022-01-20T15:40:15","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T13:40:15","slug":"microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2022\/01\/20\/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft To Acquire Activision Blizzard To Bring The Joy And Community Of Gaming To Everyone, Across Every Device"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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With three billion people actively playing games today, and fueled by a new generation steeped in the joys of interactive entertainment, gaming is now the largest and fastest-growing form of entertainment. Today, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher. This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft\u2019s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard\u2019s net cash. When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world\u2019s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like \u201cWarcraft,\u201d \u201cDiablo,\u201d \u201cOverwatch,\u201d \u201cCall of Duty\u201d and \u201cCandy Crush,\u201d in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has studios around the world with nearly 10,000 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s culture and accelerate business growth. Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGaming 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,\u201d said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. \u201cWe\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlayers everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them,\u201d said Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming. \u201cTogether we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor more than 30 years our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games,\u201d said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard. \u201cThe combination of Activision Blizzard\u2019s world-class talent and extraordinary franchises with Microsoft\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobile is the largest segment in gaming, with nearly 95% of all players globally enjoying games on mobile. Through great teams and great technology, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will empower players to enjoy the most-immersive franchises, like \u201cHalo\u201d and \u201cWarcraft,\u201d virtually anywhere they want. And with games like \u201cCandy Crush,\u201d Activision Blizzard\u00b4s mobile business represents a significant presence and opportunity for Microsoft in this fast-growing segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acquisition also bolsters Microsoft\u2019s Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 25 million subscribers. With Activision Blizzard\u2019s nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and three billion-dollar franchises, this acquisition will make Game Pass one of the most compelling and diverse lineups of gaming content in the industry. Upon close, Microsoft will have 30 internal game development studios, along with additional publishing and esports production capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and completion of regulatory review and Activision Blizzard\u2019s shareholder approval. The deal is expected\u00a0to close in fiscal year 2023 and will be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share upon close. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Microsoft<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft (Nasdaq \u201cMSFT\u201d @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Activision Blizzard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our mission, to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment has never been more important. Through communities rooted in our video game franchises we enable hundreds of millions of people to experience joy, thrill and achievement. We enable social connections through the lens of fun, and we foster purpose and meaning through competitive gaming. Video games, unlike any other social or entertainment media, have the ability to break down barriers that can inhibit tolerance and understanding. Celebrating differences is at the core of our culture and ensures we can create games for players of diverse backgrounds in the 190 countries our games are played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a member of the Fortune 500 and as a component company of the S&P 500, we have an extraordinary track record of delivering superior shareholder returns for over 30 years. Our sustained success has enabled the company to support corporate social responsibility initiatives that are directly tied to our franchises. As an example, our Call of Duty Endowment has helped find employment for over 90,000 veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more information about Activision Blizzard and how we connect and engage the world through epic entertainment on the company\u00b4s website, www.activisionblizzard.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With three billion people actively playing games today, and fueled by a new generation steeped in the joys of interactive entertainment, gaming is now the largest and fastest-growing form of entertainment. Today, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher.… Continue reading Microsoft To Acquire Activision Blizzard To Bring The Joy And Community Of Gaming To Everyone, Across Every Device<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[254],"tags":[237],"class_list":["post-14025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gaming","tag-microsoft","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14025\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}