Possibly one of the news of the year in the sector, yesterday we learned that Microsoft had reached an agreement to purchase Activision Blizzard for 68.7 billion dollars. almost at the same time, Sony shares plummeted nearly 13% in Tokyo.
In figures and according to analysts, Microsoft’s move meant the loss of its rival of 20 billion dollars in market value. Not only that, but it was also Sony’s biggest one-day drop since 2008. The move dragged Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index down 2.8%.
In addition, count the Financial Times that the Japanese company’s US-listed shares fell 4.3% early Wednesday, after closing almost 7.2% below the previous session.
The reason for these sharp drops is pretty clear. Both Sony and Microsoft are two of the biggest competitors in the video game industry with their PlayStation and Xbox consoles, respectively. Hence the depth of the recent operation, an agreement by Activision that would make Microsoft the third largest game company in the world by revenue, after China’s Tencent and Sony itself. Moreover, it is the most valuable acquisition in the video game industry.
According to some analysts explaining the purchase that became official yesterday, concerns that Microsoft could make Activision’s successful franchise “Call of Duty” was exclusive to its Xbox console contributed to the drop in Sony’s share price. A franchise that for now is available on all consoles, including Sony’s PlayStation, where it has been a consistent revenue generator.
Another possible “play” by Microsoft would have to do with the scope it could have in the metaverse, on Wall Street they believe it could generate millions of dollars in revenue. In fact, this is how the company expressed it in a statement: “This acquisition will accelerate the growth of Microsoft’s gaming business on mobile devices, PCs, consoles and the cloud and provide basic elements for the metatarsal.[[Insider]