Microsoft has bought Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. But what does that mean for the other acquisitions?
This deal is a huge one. Two of the biggest industry giants have decided to start the year nicely, with Microsoft purchasing Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. This is the company’s biggest acquisition so far.
Activision Blizzard already has ZeniMax Media and Mojang in their portfolio, which makes Microsoft the third-largest gaming company out there. It makes Microsoft bigger than it ever was, but can we actually compare this purchase with other studio purchases?
Microsoft now owns Overwatch, Call of Duty, Diablo, Warcraft, Candy Crush, Starcraft – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They are very popular, and will bring Microsoft a huge amount of money. This deal may actually need a formal examination, to see if it creates a monopoly, given the massive incomes.
Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media less than a year ago, with $7.5 billion, back in March 2021. They needed approve from the European Commission for that.
ZeniMax has in its portfolio Bethesda Softworks, Arkane Studios, and id Software, so titles like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout to Doom and Dishonored are also now owned by Microsoft. Back in 2021, this was the biggest gaming acquisition of all time.
Microsoft has also bought Mojang for 2.5 billion back in 2014. The sum was 20x of Mojang’s earnings in 2013 – about $129 million. Microsoft really has its plan worked out. The purchase of Activision Blizzard is really the biggest one out there.
This deal becomes even more surprising if we are to compare it to other studio acquisitions. It reminds us of another purchase – in 2019, when Sony bought Insomniac Games for $229 million, which was a big sum at that time. But compared to the new price tag, it seems like nothing.
