Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard Amid Company Struggles
The games that would be included in the 70 billion dollar deal
In January, Microsoft announced its purchase of Blizzard Activision, a multibillion-dollar entertainment company. As news was going around about sexual allegations being overlooked by the Blizzard Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick, Microsoft decided to strike. Microsoft proposed a 70-billion-dollar deal with Blizzard Activision. The full completion of said deal has not been finalized because it is such a large deal, and it will change the course of gaming.
Mr. Robert Whitacre, an avid gamer says, "The greatest impact from this purchase is Call of Duty, whether it stays on PlayStation or if it gets moved. It’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad at this moment." Whitacre explained that the future of the merger will remain to be seen.
According to a source that has a lot of knowledge of the company said, "Overwatch was a dying game, but now I have some hope for the future of this game and company because of this purchase."
Microsoft expressed interest in the acquisition while Activision Blizzard was in shambles. Blizzard was dying because Jeff Kaplan, Overwatch director, stepped down in April of 2021. Then Activision Blizzard had overlooked a lot of sexual allegations and misconduct in the workplace. The company was not in a good place.
Activision was being sued because of sexual harassment and discrimination. "They never really were in trouble of full failure, but they were dying," says Mr. Whitacre. According to authors at the Wall Street Journal, "A lawyer for a former employee at Sledgehammer Games, an Activision-owned studio, alleged in the email that her client had been raped in 2016 and 2017 by her male supervisor after she had been pressured to consume too much alcohol in the office and at work events." With these allegations other incidents were reported. According to Time Magazine, “Incidents ranging from drinking on the job to multiple instances of sexual assault are said to have occurred under Kotick’s watch.”
Blizzard Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick
Photo by Brian Losness at the NY Times
In December of 2021, Activision's stock dropped sharply. Microsoft brought an offer to Bobby Kotick, CEO of Blizzard Activison. According to authors at the New York Times, "Microsoft reached out to Kotick with a takeover bid. Kotick dismissed the offer but, told the software giant to come back with a better offer." They then came back with a 70-billion-dollar deal. Kotick accepted the deal; it could take up to 18 months to be fully validated.
"I do not think that Kotick will keep his job after the deal goes through, completely," says Mr. Whitacre. The authors at the New York Times also agree: "Kotick is expected to step down as Activision’s chief once the deal closes. […] But longer term, Activision is meant to help Microsoft compete in the so-called metaverse, a union of online and virtual reality that companies have staked their futures on."
To read more on the Metaverse, make sure to look at Michael Fishlock's article on the Metaverse.