Is Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision a good thing or a bad thing?

Our opinion on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision: Is it a good or bad thing?

First, here is some information about Activision Blizzard, which is a very old company founded in the 1970s. It was the first third-party video game company in history, and it is also the biggest third-party video game company in terms of annual revenue. So, it’s the most expensive gaming company.

Can you imagine that the price of the Activision acquisition is higher than the sale of Warner Bros to Discovery? That means Call of Duty, which some people mock, is worth more than Batman, Superman, and the rest of the crew. So, this is no small deal. It’s an iconic transaction.

To understand the gravity of this, every Call of Duty release sells at least 15 million copies on PlayStation, and Sony gets 30% of every sale. That means Sony earns at least $270 million from Call of Duty each year just from sales, not even counting microtransactions and the additional content in every installment. Imagine if it became an Xbox exclusive? The blow to Sony would be massive. When the acquisition announcement happened, Sony lost $20 billion in market value. What would happen if the Call of Duty series became exclusive to Xbox?

Secondly, Activision has more than 9,500 employees, almost double the number of Xbox and Bethesda employees combined. Some of the best developers and studios are under Activision Blizzard, but unfortunately, most of them are working on just one game: Call of Duty. And the series has been declining. Not to mention there are serious problems within the company related to the work environment, to the point where employees hide that they work there because of the shame. There was even a case of a suicide due to harassment.

The company had a bleak future, and someone had to save it. That’s where Microsoft comes in. Microsoft is known for its work quality and the freedom it offers to developers. Imagine if Activision’s studios had the chance to be creative? In the past, the company produced many great games that we can mention later.

So, considering that the biggest third-party gaming company’s future looked dark, don’t you think it’s better for it to improve? Of course, it would be better for us as gamers.

Third, about whether Call of Duty will be exclusive or not: Remember the same question was asked with Bethesda. We kept asking, and there was no official answer until the acquisition was completed. So we’ll keep asking until the acquisition happens, and Phil Spencer will clarify things. When will the acquisition happen? If the legal process takes the same time as Bethesda’s, the acquisition could be completed by next July, and we’ll know the outcome then. Some people are calling for Activision’s games to still release on PlayStation, and that’s fine, but in return, Sony’s games should release on Xbox as long as Sony is releasing their games to Microsoft. That seems fair to me.

Fourth, and to wrap up, the best thing about this acquisition is Game Pass. Guys, Game Pass is legendary. It’s legendary on its own. Many of us couldn’t play Call of Duty every year because it was too expensive and there were no discounts, but now, we’ll be able to play it every year with all the company’s games available Day One! !

In the end, we see it as a successful and beneficial deal for the industry and the players.