Finance Monthly - February 2022

42 Finance Monthly. Bus i ne s s & Economy he tech giant’s acquisition of Activision will see it become the world’s third largest gaming company by revenue after Japan’s Sony and China’s Tencent and is hoped to help provide “the building blocks for the metaverse.” “Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, commented following the deal. “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.” Here’s what investors and gamers alike can expect from Microsoft once the deal with Activision Blizzard is complete. Activision CEO Likely to Stand Down While it has not yet been officially confirmed that Activision Blizzard’s CEO Bobby Kotick will exit the company following the deal, The Wall Street Journal has reported that, behind the scenes, his resignation has been agreed upon. Kotick has been credited for the transformation of Activision Blizzard from a bankrupt company to one of the largest video game publishers in the world. However, Kotick came under fire last year after it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that he had been aware of sexual misconduct allegations in the company but had failed to report them to his board. Since, questions about Kotick’s employment at Activision have circulated with some employees and company investors calling for his resignation. As Microsoft looks to build a new future for itself and the game publisher, questions around Kotick’s role as CEO have only intensified. A Move Toward a PostConsole World While consoles remain highly popular amongst gamers, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision will likely bring the community closer to a post-console world. Microsoft claims that its acquisition of Activision will help “democratise” gaming by providing access to popular titles, which are otherwise expensive, through Game Pass— its cloud-based monthly subscription service. The acquisition “bolsters Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 25 million subscribers,” the tech giant says. “With Activision Blizzard’s nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and three billiondollar franchises, this acquisition Bobby Kotick - CEO of Activision Blizzard

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