Activision Blizzard’s management stated that more than 98 percent of the shareholders, namely the majority, voted for the transaction at last week’s extraordinary general meeting.
The acquisition itself will be completed during Microsoft’s next financial year, which ends June 30, 2023. It will be the largest purchase of all time in video game history.
After successfully completing the entire deal, Microsoft should become the third largest gaming company in the world, at least in terms of sales. It ranks close behind Tencent and Sony. But the trade has not been approved by regulators.
“We are working hard on world-class content, community and cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.
Microsoft will now have some of the biggest names in the gaming world – at least Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot, and StarCraft.
Example from the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Photo: creator archive
The game will be included in the subscription
These games are expected to appear on Xbox Game Pass as well, meaning that people will be able to play them for free as part of a subscription. The American software giant did the same last year when it bought Bethesda. He paid $7.5 billion for it at the time, which is more than 160.9 billion crowns.
“Players around the world love Activision Blizzard, and we believe the creative team has their best work ahead of them,” said Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s gaming division. He will now lead all teams at Activision Blizzard.
“Unapologetic social media guru. General reader. Incurable pop culture specialist.”
