2023-04-26 19:00:01
Microsoft, which already owns Xbox, embarked more than a year ago on the acquisition of US publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, which would make the computer giant the world’s third largest player in video games. .
The British Competition Authority (CMA), worried about the lack of competition in the online video game sector, opposed it on Wednesday, but the two companies will appeal.
Here are three things to know about Microsoft’s potential new video game branch.
The third empire
If it takes place, this acquisition will be the largest ever in the sector and will make Microsoft Gaming the third player in video games in terms of turnover, behind Tencent and Sony, the group of Redmond (State of Washington) stepping over the Apple Passage.
Tencent reigns both in Asia – the most important market in this industry – and in the rest of the world, thanks to its investments. The Chinese giant notably owns Riot Games, the publisher of the planetary success “League of Legends” and has shares in the French studio Ubisoft (“Assassin’s Creed”, “Just Dance”…) and Activision.
The Japanese Sony has seen the share of its consoles and games grow in its income. Sales of the latest generation of PlayStation have surpassed those of Microsoft’s Xbox.
Microsoft, for its part, has expanded beyond consoles, in particular with the acquisition of the Swedish studio Mojang, creator of “Minecraft” in 2014 and ZeniMax Media in 2020, behind franchises like “Elder Scrolls” or “Fallout “.
The candy war
To continue its expansion, the group indeed needs content, the sinews of war to capture and retain players. According to data analytics firm Statista, revenue from mobile app games alone reached $267 billion in 2022.
However, Activision Blizzard is above all phenomenal games.
According to Active Player, last year “Call of Duty: Warzone”, the most popular version of the famous first-person shooter (FPS), has more than 50 million monthly players.
They are more than 200 million to explode, each month, lines of candy on a daily basis on “Candy Crush”, according to its publisher, King, acquired by Activision in 2016.
The acquisition of Blizzard in 2008 also brought him flagship games like “World of Warcraft”, “Diablo”, and “Overwatch”. The success for the latter was such that it gave rise to the creation of a dedicated championship, the Overwatch League, one of the most outstanding examples of the development of esports.
With these new titles, Microsoft seeks to expand the offer of Xbox Game Pass, its platform which has just exceeded 25 million subscribers. It offers both the possibility of downloading games on a physical medium and of playing them remotely, via the cloud.
Activision Blizzard is also an interesting target in that it has, for several years, focused on mobile games, the industry’s major growth vector, which now account for almost half of its turnover. .
Activision Pans
In the months leading up to the announcement of the acquisition, in January 2022, the Santa Monica, Calif., publisher faced repeated accusations over its management of staff.
A California state agency has launched a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, ethnic discrimination and machismo against the group’s female employees. The whole thing would have been facilitated by employees of human resources of Activision Blizzard.
Since then, Activision Blizzard has entered into an agreement with another agency (EEOC), federal this time, providing for the creation of a compensation fund for victims of harassment, endowed with 18 million dollars. Several executives were also pushed at the start.
CEO Bobby Kotick apologized to the group’s employees and announced, at the end of October, the establishment of a “zero tolerance” policy against harassment.
The company remains the subject of several lawsuits for harassment and discrimination.
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