In a move that is already sending shockwaves throughout the video game industry, Microsoft has announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty, Overwatch, and some of the most popular video games in history. It is the largest acquisition in the company’s history – and one that effectively turns Microsoft into the Disney of video games.
From hardcore titles like Diablo and Call of Duty to casual games like Hearthstone and Candy Crush, Activision published it all – and now Microsoft is set to acquire the company for a cool $68.7 billion. It’s a figure almost 10 times more than the $7.5 billion it paid to acquire Bethesda in 2020, the publisher and developer of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises.