Microsoft has announced a deal to buy video game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, at $95 per share. This will be Microsoft's biggest acquisition ever and the biggest deal in the video game industry. Against the backdrop of this news, Activision Blizzard's stock immediately rose in price.
Activision Blizzard is the largest publisher of gaming and interactive entertainment content. The company's games include the world famous Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and Hearthstone. Microsoft says the deal will accelerate the growth of its gaming business across mobile, PC, consoles and the cloud. And it will also become the foundation for building the metaverse.
Microsoft plans to add Activision Blizzard games to Xbox Game Pass after the deal closes. After closing, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as possible through Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass,” said Xbox CEO Phil Spencer. Activision Blizzard's current head Bobby Kotick will continue as CEO. Recall that about a year ago, Microsoft bought Bethesda for $ 7.5 billion.
