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 get sold?

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.

Why did Microsoft want Activision?

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 ...

What happened to Activision and 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.

Who intended to buy Activision Blizzard?

On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced that it planned to buy Activision Blizzard King—the mega-publisher behind games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush—in a deal worth nearly $70 billion.

"Selling Off Xbox Is A Possibility" If Activision-Blizzard Deal Doesn't Go Through

What did Microsoft agree to pay for Activision?

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.

Did Microsoft overpay for Activision?

Most people think that Microsoft overpaid with the $70 billion price tag on Activision Blizzard. Not necessarily. People tend to look at this as a consolidation deal, where Microsoft buying a company at a decline, which is not. The important point of the deal was to facilitate Category Acceleration.

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.

Did Blizzard lose the lawsuit?

Judge approves Activision Blizzard's $18m settlement over sexual harassment suit. A US judge has approved an $18m settlement between Activision Blizzard and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, bringing one of several discrimination lawsuits against the gaming company to a close.

Why is Blizzard suing Activision?

Activision maintains that the DFEH broke the terms of an agreement between the state and EEOC officials that the federal agency would investigate the sexual harassment claims with the state agency would focus on pay discrimination claims. The DFEH filed a lawsuit against Activision in 2021 that involved both issues.

Why is Xbox buying Activision?

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.

Why did Activision sell to Xbox?

“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.

Why can't Microsoft just buy Activision?

The European Commission has objected to Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard, setting another roadblock in the purchase. Following a lawsuit by gamers over monopolizing the gaming market, Microsoft has hit another roadblock in its attempt to buy Activision Blizzard (ABK) for nearly $70 billion.

Why is Blizzard in trouble?

Activision Blizzard has been embroiled in allegations of workplace harassment and gender discrimination, which have called attention to working conditions in the broader video game industry.

Is Blizzard making a profit?

Activision Blizzard annual gross profit for 2022 was $5.306B, a 18.19% decline from 2021.

Is Blizzard making money?

According to Activision Blizzard's most recent financial report, the developer/publisher generated £535m from its PC and console sales in Q2 2022 - £275m ($332m) on PC and £310m ($376m) consoles - while £688m ($831m) came from its "mobile and ancillary" business, which the company says "primarily include[s] revenues ...

Why did Lego stop working with Blizzard?

Lego said the decision to push back the set comes as the company is “reviewing” its partnership with Activision Blizzard over concerns about how the game publisher is handling allegations of a toxic workplace culture and gender discrimination at the company.

What was the Blizzard scandal?

One of the biggest discoveries was the pervasiveness of what the lawsuit dubbed “cube crawls,” where male employees got drunk, crawled their way through cubicles, and participated in “inappropriate behavior toward female employees.” Many male employees also allegedly openly joked about rape and passed off their ...

Who won the Activision lawsuit?

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from investors alleging they were misled about the severity of investigations into the video game giant's workplace culture.

Is Microsoft confident about Activision deal?

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer says he's confident its Activision-Blizzard acquisition deal will receive final approval from global regulatory bodies. Xbox head Phil Spencer remains confident that Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision-Blizzard will go through.

Does Sony own Activision?

Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Is Google owned by Microsoft?

Google is an American Multinational tech-based company that basically focuses on Internet-based products and services. Microsoft is an American Multinational tech-based company that basically focuses on developing and selling PCs, computer-based products, software, and services. Sergey Brin and Larry Page found Google.

Who owns overwatch now?

Blizzard released Overwatch 2 via early access on October 4, 2022. The game was made free-to-play on PC and for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X platforms, and employed full cross-platform play.

What is Microsoft planning to do with Activision?

Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard's net cash. When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.

Is Microsoft really buying Activision?

Xbox announced via its official Xbox Wire site that it would acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. All Activision Blizzard studios which include Blizzard but also Call of Duty developers like Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer would report to Xbox head Phil Spencer.