One of the first major acquisitions in recent history that has seen a tech giant acquiring another company has unfolded in our eyes. It will be interesting to see how they use their new asset and what this means for consumers worldwide.
Microsoft announced Tuesday their plan to buy out the video game holding company Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion. This deal is one of Microsoft’s biggest in history and will help them become even more competitive.
In a world where people spend more and more of their time on the internet, this move indicates that we will see an increase in virtual reality consumption.
Gaming has been becoming increasingly popular with the rise in virtual games. This acquisition will make Microsoft a major player not only in video game development but also by acquiring other technology companies that are vying for similar spaces.
Activision is the creator of a few of the most favored games among gamers and entertainment explorers today; Call of Duty and Candy Crush are among their biggest hits. Although, the company has been quite in a huge commotion in recent months as it faces alleged sexual harassment and discrimination.
The tech giant is on a mission to enforce the strong foundation for their journey inside the metaverse, the realm of virtual augmented mixed and extended reality. While it has not gone live, this gained lots of attention from different firms, meaning more investors or talents. Further, this means that there’ll likely be even greater opportunities in store.
It seems like every time a tech giant wants to get into the metaverse, they go far with their branding. Case in point: Facebook rebranded themselves just last year, and now it’s called Meta.
The acquisition of Activision will help Microsoft in many ways. It will bring advantage to the company from their adversaries such as Sony, which they have been rivaling for gamers’ attention and wallets, Amazon and Google, which are their newer competitors in gaming.
Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming CEO, has stated that regardless of what the metaverse may be in the end, “gaming will be at the forefront of making that mainstream.” He dubbed Call of Duty as “one of the amazing entertainment franchises on the planet.”
The acquisition is about securing a stronghold in mobile gaming for now, Spencer said. It’s also important to Microsoft because it will allow them not to compete and create an environment where their employees can develop marketable games with high likability ratings.
