Microsoft buys Activision: How two video game giants came together

Activision Blizzard will sell to Microsoft Xbox for $68.7billion. This company is behind multi-billion dollar franchises such as Warcraft and Call of Duty. Both companies made the announcement on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. The deal still has to be approved by government regulators, and will require a closing period of 18 months.

The videogame industry is facing huge consequences from this scandal. Not least because it puts some of the most popular names in console gaming within the same company. Activision Blizzard has also been roiled by workplace scandal over the past six months, including a lawsuit from California regulators, a reckoning with a toxic and discriminatory workplace culture, and questions of chief executive Bobby Kotick’s fitness for the job after more than 30 years in charge.

Polygon gathers all of the news coverage about a significant day in gaming. It also discusses what it means to players and fans who own Xbox or Activision Blizzard consoles, as well as what the future holds for both of these companies once the deal closes.