For the first time, Microsoft's CEO explained why Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard

Abstract: After the announcement of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft CEO Nadella elaborated for the first time on the significance of the acquisition, the relationship between meta-universe and games, the regulatory scrutiny that the transaction may face, and the industry standard for the future virtual world.

After the announcement of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft CEO Nadella elaborated for the first time on the significance of the acquisition, the relationship between the metacosm and the game, the regulatory scrutiny that the transaction may face, and the industry standard for the future virtual world.

Last month, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Activision Blizzard for $95 per share, with an all-cash deal worth a total of $68.7 billion. This will be the largest acquisition Microsoft has ever made, and it will also rewrite the record of acquisitions in the gaming industry. After the acquisition is completed, Microsoft will become the third-highest-paid gaming company in the world.

The inclusion of Activision Blizzard will greatly enrich Microsoft's layout in the metaverse field. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was blunt in her evaluation of the acquisition at the time that the deal would play a key role in the development of Microsoft's metaversic platform: "Games are the most dynamic and exciting category of entertainment of all platforms today, and will also play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms." We're investing heavily in world-class content, communities, and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first, making games safe, inclusive, and accessible to all. ”

Nadella was recently interviewed by the Financial Times, the first detailed interview he conducted since the blockbuster acquisition.

Nadella said games will drive the tech giant's computing transformation. The technology originally developed for video games will one day shape much of Microsoft's software and become the core of the next big computing platform.

Nadella has championed the significance of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, calling it an important step towards Microsoft's metaverse, the next generation of the Internet, which will become the center of future online interaction as people spend more time on the metaverse.

He also pointed out that improving game building capabilities is close to Microsoft's initial business of creating software tools for developers. This will allow Microsoft to democratize game building, which is currently only available in the context of entertainment. In the future, the same technology will be brought to everyone, enabling them to build any digital space, person, place, thing. "We can start imagining that through these virtual worlds, I can really get into the game, just as I can have a meeting with you in a conference room." Performance can be obtained in different contexts. ”

Microsoft has always had a high interest in the "metacosm". Previously, Nadella had made it clear that the metaverse would have a huge impact on the world, and Microsoft would also lay out the metaverse with a "full-stack" strategy. However, compared to competitor Meta (formerly Facebook), which has deep roots in the social field, it is not easy for Microsoft to cut into the metaverse of the To C side. Pure social ports can't be cut in quickly, and games have become the only way for Microsoft to enter the To C side to build a metaverse. And this time to win the world's top Activision Blizzard, for Microsoft to enter the meta-universe, there is undoubtedly another team to fight against Meta.

Nadella also explains the relationship between the metaverse and the game. The beauty of gaming, he says, is that you see young people playing games every day of the year, which tells you what they expect from a "computer-mediated interface" (CMI). So when this generation is exposed to some aspects related to work, you can tell what their expectations are for an immersive environment. Take, for example, the research we're doing on "how people should relate to their avatars." What is an avatar? You and I may have a special understanding, especially compared to the little kids who have established avatars in Minecraft or Forza. It is absolutely necessary when we introduce new tools and new features in products that may be considered work-related.

For the Activision Blizzard transaction, the market generally believes that it may not go very smoothly, because Microsoft may face strict scrutiny from domestic and foreign antitrust agencies. Previously, Microsoft has largely avoided the wave of antitrust investigations against tech giants in China, and the antitrust firepower of the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and Congress has mainly focused on other tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and Apple. But such a large-scale acquisition could reignite regulators' vigilance.

In response, Nadella believes that Microsoft does not need to make any formal concessions to obtain regulatory approval for the deal because it is too small to have an anti-competitive impact. "At the end of the day, all the analysis is going to be based on what category we're talking about and what the market structure is. Even after this acquisition, we only came in third place in the video game market, the share of teenagers was low, and we only played a small role in a highly fragmented market. ”

Nadella acknowledges that regulators are also likely to be concerned about the impact of the deal on the future development of the metaverse, not just the current gaming market. But he said Microsoft is committed to building an open computing platform that allows people to move freely between the virtual worlds of different companies. If regulators try to create rules to keep any metaverses open and connected, they should use the same rules for all tech companies. "So, if there's legislation, or regulation, or regulatory enforcement, whatever the form, we're going to be very open and engaged."

Under current technology, virtual worlds built by different companies will be similar to current games designed by different companies, and will be disconnected. Nadella believes this highlights the need for new standards that should allow people to bring their digital identities, along with personal digital objects, from one virtual world to another. Nadella, for example, microsoft Windows Store, which allows different payment tools and can even be used in multiple stores, is one way to start allowing multiple identities and multiple store relationships.