Did Activision buy Blizzard?

Activision-Blizzard Merger

After several years of rapid expansion through acquisitions of smaller game developers, Activision merged with Blizzard Entertainment in 2008 to create Activision Blizzard, forming one of the world's largest video game companies.

How much did Activision buy Blizzard for?

Announcement. On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in an all-cash deal, or approximately $95 per share. Activision Blizzard's stock price jumped nearly 40% that day in pre-market trading.

Is Microsoft buying Activision or Blizzard?

I n January 2022, Microsoft announced it had plans to buy Activision Blizzard, one of the world's largest games publishers, for $68.7 billion.

Is Microsoft still buying Activision?

Microsoft made it clear on Tuesday that there will be no $69-billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard unless it comes with the blockbuster title “Call of Duty.”

Who owns Activision now?

Share All sharing options for: What's happening with Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft is attempting to persuade regulators around the world to clear its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard — the biggest deal of its kind the gaming industry has ever seen.

What Will Microsoft Do If It Can't Buy Activision?

Is the Activision deal finalized?

Apr. 28, 2022: Shareholders at Call of Duty and Overwatch 2 publisher Activision Blizzard voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a $69 billion sale to tech giant Microsoft. The deal gives golden parachutes to top execs at Activision, including embattled CEO Bobby Kotick.

What happens if Microsoft buys Activision?

Activision Blizzard own the Call of Duty franchise, one of the biggest in gaming history. If Microsoft's acquisition deal closes, they will own the Call of Duty series, and be able to do whatever they want with it on their Xbox systems going forward. Microsoft could have bought other companies, but it already did.

Why did Activision sell to Microsoft?

Microsoft says it needs the deal to boost the Xbox

Microsoft says buying Activision would let it put more big titles on Game Pass - its Netflix-style subscription - and make more games for mobile phones, where there are big profits to be made.

What is Blizzard's most profitable game?

Using data from Sensor Tower and AppMagic, Mobilegamer.biz found out which mobile titles were the main revenue drivers for Activision Blizzard in Q3 2022. Candy Crush Saga remained the highest-grossing game, generating $316.8 million in the third quarter.

Who owns World of Warcraft?

Blizzard Entertainment is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software, and the company is renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games, including World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Hearthstone®, StarCraft®, and Diablo®.

Does Sony own Activision?

Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Why did Activision sell Blizzard?

Activision Blizzard has been embroiled in a sexism and workplace discrimination crisis for the past six months, the effects of which directly led to the announcement on Tuesday that Microsoft plans to buy the publisher for a record-breaking $68.7 billion, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Why did Blizzard let Activision buy them?

Activision and Blizzard wanted to unlock the potential of Blizzard's value in intellectual properties by getting it away from a huge conglomerate like Vivendi. So with the help of Tencent, Activision purchased Blizzard from Vivendi. That is why ATVI stock is now listed as Activision/Blizzard.

Why does Microsoft want Call of Duty?

Microsoft said that the deal would “accelerate the growth in Microsoft's gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse”, and its chief executive Satya Nadella said it was “investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of ...

Is Google owned by Microsoft?

The company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2004. In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's largest subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet's internet properties and interests.

Why is Microsoft buying cod?

“Its vision for the transaction is simple: Xbox wants to grow its presence in mobile gaming, and three-quarters of Activision's gamers and more than a third of its revenues come from mobile offerings,” according to Microsoft.

Can Microsoft be blocked from buying Activision?

The planned Microsoft Activision acquisition has been provisionally blocked by the UK's antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) …

Who owns Call of Duty?

Call of Duty (often acronymized to CoD) is a first-person shooter video game franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold War, futuristic worlds, and the modern day.

What does Microsoft buying Activision mean for Playstation?

It also means the developers will now focus on the Xbox version of their games first, and rival consoles second – if at all – which almost guarantees the best experience will be on Microsoft machines. It's a savvy move and one that Microsoft will hope can sway more people to buy their console.

Who is blocking the Microsoft Activision deal?

But things got really interesting in early December of last year, when the FTC sued to block Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard, with preliminary hearings set to begin this August.

Will the Activision deal get approved?

Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard is likely to be approved by EU regulators, Reuters reports. The software giant struck licensing deals with Nintendo and Nvidia recently, and Reuters says these deals are likely to satisfy lawmakers in Europe to help Microsoft clear its $68.7 billion deal.

How long will the Microsoft Activision deal take?

Microsoft has suffered several major setbacks in its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with both the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) providing new hurdles for the deal's completion at the tail end of 2022.