Microsoft announced earlier this year that it plans to acquire the gaming conglomerate Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal that will add many popular titles, including the Call of Duty franchise, to the Xbox game, although Microsoft and the Xbox platform have yet to officially acquire Activision Blizzard ownership, but is expected to announce the final deal soon.
Sony has just announced the formal completion of its acquisitions of Bungie and Haven Studios, and then Microsoft confirmed that the Federal Trade Commission may approve Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard next month.
Microsoft announced in January that it would acquire Activision Blizzard, a game developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content, for $95 per share, in a deal totaling $68.7 billion. The deal is expected to be completed in 2023.
This will be the most expensive acquisition ever made by Microsoft, and when the deal is completed, Microsoft will surpass Nintendo to become the world’s third-largest gaming company after Tencent and Sony.
Microsoft will acquire the rights to Activision Blizzard games, including the Diablo, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty franchises.
If the FTC didn’t ask Microsoft for additional information in August, the deal would be done automatically, and Xbox plans to bring Activision Blizzard into its existing brand by the summer of 2023 at the latest.
If the Microsoft acquisition cannot be approved and the merger deal is terminated, it may have to pay a huge compensation of up to $3 billion.
And gamers are paying close attention to what’s going on with Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, because a successful deal will give them an opportunity to build an ecosystem where they can experience many of the world’s most famous games.
