Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

Submission 18,403

Part of a series on Microsoft. [View Related Entries]

Overview

Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard refers to the planned acquisition of video game publisher and developer Activision-Blizzard by the tech company Microsoft that was announced in January 2022. Following the announcement, the acquisition became a subject of viral discussions and memes on social media, partially in connection to the Activision Blizzard lawsuit.

Background

On January 18th, 2022, the tech company Microsoft^[1] announced that it was set to acquire Activision Blizzard, a major video game publisher and developer. The deal, once closed, will make Microsoft the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue in the world, behind only Tencent and Sony.

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. announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc., a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher. This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.

According to the official press release^[2] shared by Microsoft, Activision Blizzard was valued at $68.7 billion, or $95 per share for this acquisition, with the deal expected to close in the fiscal year 2023.

The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from Activision, Blizzard and King studios such as Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and Candy Crush. Developers that are subsidiaries of Activision Blizzard, including Treyarch, Raven, High Moon, Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward, will be considered Xbox First Party Studios once the deal closes (infographics shown below).^[3]

On January 18th, 2022, Xbox's official Twitter^[4] account and video game industry insider Nibellion^[5] first broke the news, with their tweets gaining over 21,900 retweets and 86,400 likes and 6,100 retweets and 23,900 likes in three hours, respectively (shown below, left and right).

The news followed a turbulent year for Activision Blizzard as a long history of sexual harassment and workplace ethical issues at the company came to light, with the company facing both massive public backlash and a lawsuit brought on by the state of California.

Following the announcement, gaming journalist Jason Schreier tweeted^[6] an internal communications letter issued by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick to the company's employees. In the letter, Kotick stated that the acquisition was set to be complete sometime in Microsoft's fiscal year 2023, ending on June 30th, 2023, and that until then, the company would continue to operate completely autonomously.

Developments

Bobby Kotick's Future

Although the press release issued by Microsoft states that Bobby Kotick, the current CEO at Activision Blizzard, will remain in his position after the deal, with Activision Blizzard business reporting to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, The Wall Street Journal^[9] reported that, according to its sources, Kotick is expected to depart one the deal closes.

Online Reactions

Immediately following the announcement, the planned acquisition became a viral subject of discussions, jokes and memes online. Within three minutes of the news being shared, Twitch streamer Saberspark tweeted^[7] that Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick should be fired out of a cannon, with the tweet gaining over 420 retweets and 3,400 likes in three hours (shown below, left). Within one hour, YouTuber SomeOrdinaryGamers tweeted^[8] a joke about playing Candy Crush on the Xbox Series X console, which gained over 310 retweets and 6,500 likes in three hours (shown below, right).

In the following hours on January 18th, 2022, multiple posts about the acquisition went viral as users shared their opinions on the development and joked about it (examples shown below). In some examples, the recently uncovered history of ethical problems at Activision Blizzard and the growing dislike for the company and its CEO were referenced.