Activision-Blizzard, the publisher of games like Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, Candy Crush, and many more, is being purchased by Microsoft. It will make Microsoft the third-largest game developer in the world, and likely solves many problems the beleaguered Blizzard and Activision developers have been feeling. CEO Bobby Kotick is surely exiting.
This is a breaking story, we will cover it more in-depth at That Park Place later today.
“We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”
— Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella
According to The Verge:
It looks like Kotick won’t remain once the deal is fully closed and after the transition period to Microsoft, though. Spencer, formerly head of gaming at Microsoft, is now CEO of Microsoft Gaming, and the company says the Activision Blizzard business will report directly to Spencer.
“As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.”
— Phil Spencer, Xbox Gaming CEO
Not all is rosy here, however. Don’t forget that Microsoft’s Spencer has been at the forefront of some very dangerous ideas.
Must Read: Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, Proposes Dangerous Social Concept
More coverage will happen later this afternoon as That Park Place writers dive into what all this means for the video game landscape…
I wouldn’t buy an Xbox now that he will deplatform anyone that have contrary opinions and ban you from everything essentially with a blacklist. If I wish that on myself, I just won’t use Xbox. Too bad for PlayStation if Microsoft is so ruthless that it won’t offer games on other platforms, but they’ll blacklist customers so they can do worse.