China News Finance, January 20 (Reporter Wu Tao) The famous game king Activision Blizzard is now going to sell itself. On the evening of the 18th, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Activision Blizzard for $95 per share, with a total cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion.
Blizzard Chinese BattleNet screenshot.
If all goes well, this move will win the largest acquisition in the history of the world's gaming and the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history. What is the internal reason for Microsoft's tv Blizzard, and what can players get from it?
The global gaming landscape will be reshaped
According to foreign media reports, the acquisition will include iconic franchises for Activision, Blizzard and King Studios, such as Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, the Call of Duty series and Candy Crush Saga, as well as global esports events through Major League Baseball.
The transaction is expected to close in 2023, with regulatory permission. When completed, Microsoft could become the world's third-largest game company, after Tencent and Sony.
Some analysts pointed out that the game, as one of the breakthroughs of the metaverse, basically reached an industry consensus, and Microsoft's move is a sign of heavy bets on the metaverse. Huatai Securities pointed out that global giants are continuing to absorb high-quality assets and the layout of the meta-universe, and scarce high-quality game content developers are expected to play the role of the cornerstone of the construction of the meta-universe.
Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, has said: "Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting form of entertainment on all platforms today, and it will definitely play a key role in the development of meta-universe platforms in the future." ”
There is also an analysis that the acquisition directly pulled Microsoft's game business to a level with Sony, the original game console exclusive AAA masterpiece, led by Sony, but whether Sony can play "Call of Duty" in the future is a problem.
Generally speaking, the charm of the game platform or console comes from its exclusive AAA masterpieces, such as Nintendo with its exclusive AAA masterpiece "Zelda: Breath of the Wilderness", word of mouth bursting, in one fell swoop to turn around. At present, its host Switch has sold more than 100 million.
At present, the mainstream hosts on the market are Sony's PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch (the domestic Switch is represented by Tencent), Microsoft's Xbox series, etc., each of which has its own AAA works.
Screenshot of Xbox Weibo.
There are also views that it is said that Microsoft collects Blizzard, strictly speaking, Microsoft pays more attention to "Activision", a "Call of Duty", a "Candy Crush Legend" Its IP value is how much? It has great potential in film and television, peripherals and other aspects.
Xbox Series Players "Cool Crooked"
Although the deal has not yet been completed, many players have been overjoyed and began to "layout" Microsoft: the Xbox series of game services included "Call of Duty", "World of Warcraft", "Candy Crush Legend" and other popular works.
Many netizens said that in the future, all Blizzard games will join the meta-universe concept, and it is just around the corner to go to the continent of Azeroth in "World of Warcraft".
Some netizens expressed concern about Sony, Tencent, etc., can Sony still play "Call of Duty" in the future? Can Call of Duty Mobile Still Be Played? Call of Duty Mobile Game is a first-person gunfight shooter mobile game jointly created by Activision Blizzard and Tencent.
"Hey, hey, where are your concerns, more than $60 billion, all-cash acquisitions, and only Microsoft has this 'banknote' ability." The era of free-to-play games is likely to come, and it is best to play the popular game Call of Duty for free. Some netizens said.
Some analysts pointed out that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to bring players a more diversified game experience, and some of Blizzard's legendary masterpieces will log on to Xbox.
Who is injured and who benefits?
After the news of Microsoft's acquisition of Blizzard came out, at the capital level, Activision Blizzard opened more than 30% on the same day, and as of the close, the stock price closed up 25.88%. Microsoft shares fell 2.42 percent and Sony shares plunged more than 7 percent. On the 19th, as of press time, the share price of Tencent Holdings fell slightly.
Obviously, Activision Blizzard is the biggest beneficiary of this transaction, got a huge purchase price, and the follow-up development has obtained a continuous blood transfusion, no wonder some netizens said, "God closed a door for Blizzard, and also opened a Windows for him." ”
In recent years, Activision Blizzard has developed unfavorably, the main game "Overwatch" is tepid, and "Interstellar 2" still can't see the future. Activision Blizzard is also deeply involved in a sexual discrimination scandal, according to foreign media reports, since july last year, Activision Blizzard has accepted more than 700 sexual discrimination complaints, fired 37 employees, and punished 44 other related personnel.
But all this is expected to usher in earth-shaking changes with the landing of acquisitions. The company's culture is expected to be reshaped, and Overwatch is also expected to "live" under the linkage of Microsoft's business.
Sony gaming console PS5. Screenshot of sony interactive entertainment official website.
Looking back at the game giant Sony, many analysts pointed out that because Sony is financially difficult to compete with Microsoft in terms of game copyright, and the quality of game content is directly related to the life and death of a game company, coupled with Sony's passive in "Call of Duty", the future is in a difficult situation.
"Microsoft may also break the current 'exclusive game + hardware' monetization method and increase paying users through the Xbox platform game value-added services, and if the industry abandons the above model of binding hardware, Sony's situation will be more difficult." Some analysts pointed out.
It is understood that at present, many game consoles rely on the exclusive AAA game and then bundle hardware model to make a profit, in other words, if you want to play exclusive games on a certain platform, you must first buy the company's host hardware. Sony Games is one such business.
In short, whether it is the profit model of the game industry or the way players play, it is possible that it will change dramatically with this acquisition, all depending on how Microsoft plays this "good card". (End)