How Does Microsoft’s $68 Billion Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard Stack Up Against Others?

Microsoft today announced that Activision Blizzard will be purchased by it for $68.7billion. This is a huge acquisition and a major step in the upward trend of high-end purchases. The Xbox family now has franchises nearly as large as the price, including Call of Duty and Overwatch as well as Diablo 3, Diablo 3 and World of Warcraft. The future of these franchises and whether or not they become exclusive to Xbox consoles remains uncertain and is just one of the many unanswered questions following today’s news. 

What’s to become of Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard who reportedly knew for years of the company’s history of sexual misconduct and harassment? Are there any Activision Blizzard Franchises that might be revived by Xbox? How will Xbox handle exclusives and games that will stay multiplatform? For now, we all must wait and see; and there’s a good chance we won’t get these answers until the transaction closes in fiscal year 2023. One thing we do know is that the acquisition cost Microsoft $68.7 Billion. It quickly rose to the top of history. How big does it compare to other videogames? But how does it compare to other mediums like movies? 

Here’s a quick look at how this acquisition compares to similar purchases: 

Microsoft Acquires Zenimax – $7.5 Billion

Microsoft announced back in September of 2020 that it was acquiring ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda. The deal was completed in March last year. Xbox now houses franchises such as Fallout, Doom and Wolfenstein. It’s also going to be the exclusive console home for new games like Starfield, and while the price to purchase Bethesda’s IPs was quite high, $7.5 billion pales in comparison to today’s acquisition. 

Take-Two Acquires Zynga – $13 Billion

Take-Two was just last week the company that made the largest acquisition of video games in history. Zynga, which it acquired for $12.7 million was its acquisition. While Zynga might not be the most recognized name on the console and PC side of gaming, it’s a giant in the mobile gaming market. Perhaps second only to King, which Xbox now owns after today’s Activision Blizzard purchase. Take-Two’s purchase of Zynga was smart, though – it positions the company to be a leader in the mobile gaming market, which also happens to be one of the largest in the world. The $13 billion price tag was historic, but only for a week due to today’s news. 

Sony Acquires Gaikai – $380 Million

Sony announced in 2012 that it had purchased Gaikai Inc, a cloud streaming company home to the technology that now powers Sony’s PlayStation Now service, for $380 million. At the time, that number seemed incredibly high, and it still is a massive number, but as you can see, it’s child’s play compared to capital-B Billion acquisitions. Sony still acquired an excellent cloud streaming service which allows users to download older games as well as newer ones, depending on their internet speed. And it didn’t cost them billions, which it might view as a win in and of itself. Rumours persist today that PlayStation Now could be combined into a service similar to Xbox Game Pass, code-named Spartacus. But that is still a rumor. Time will show how far Sony goes with its initial $380 million investment. 

Sony Acquires Insomniac Games – $229 Million

Sony announced in August of 2019 that it had acquired Insomniac Games, the studio behind franchises like Marvel’s Spider-Man, Ratchet & Clank, and others. Insomniac Games was purchased by Sony in August 2019. (Thanks to CNET), Insomniac is now part of the PlayStation Family. Although it might not seem like a lot for a company that releases amazing games every year, this was an uncommon look at what it cost to integrate studios under a bigger umbrella. Many studio acquisitions are made without making public the cost. For example, how much PlayStation paid to acquire Housemarque or Firesprite isn’t known, nor is the price Microsoft paid for Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, or Double Fine Productions. 

Disney Acquires Lucasfilm – $4 Billion

Those are many of the video game-centric acquisitions that have happened in recent years, but when you widen the pool to include ones in the entertainment industry, $68.7 billion doesn’t seem as wild, although it’s still easily one of the largest costs paid. In 2012, Disney shocked the entertainment world by announcing that it would buy Lucasfilm for $4 billion. Lucasfilm is the famed film studio behind such franchises as Indiana Jones and The Land Before Time. Star Wars? Although $4 billion seems huge at the time, it felt much smaller when Star Wars Episode VII, The Force Awakens, hit theatres. It soared above the $1 billion line and made $4 billion. Microsoft could have bought 17 Lucasfilms for the same price as Activision Blizzard. In other words, the Star Wars franchise could be purchased more than 12 times. 

Disney Acquires 20th Century Fox – $71.3 Billion

It took a lot to find an acquisition in an entertainment medium that cost more than Activision Blizzard’s price tag (mind you, wayyyyyy bigger ones have happened in other industries such as Heinz’ purchase of Kraft for $100 billion in 2015 or even AOL’s purchase of Time Warner for $182 billion in 2000)…but we did it: Disney’s 2020 purchase of 20th Century Fox for $71.3 billion (thanks, BBC) cost more. Arguably one of the most historic entertainment acquisitions of all time, this brought everything that features the iconic 20th Century Fox brass spotlight theme at the start of it into Disney’s wheelhouse. There’s been plenty of speculation as to how and why this one came about, and we aren’t so sure it wasn’t just so Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige could bring the X-Men to the MCU, but one thing is certain: we likely won’t see an acquisition this expensive for a very long time. 

Do you think there are any big-scale acquisitions that we may have overlooked? What costs do you find too expensive? Please leave your comments in the section below.