Microsoft completes acquisition of Activision Blizzard after 21 months

Microsoft has announced that it has — finally — completed its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the developer and publisher of Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Candy Crush.

It’s a deal of unprecedented scale in the game industry, which took 21 months to complete. Microsoft had to face opposition in the U.S.A. and U.K. as well as its rival Sony. Sony’s leaders were worried about losing Call of Duty exclusivity.

According to notes sent to Xbox staff and Activision Blizzard employees, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer and Activision’s Bobby Kotick stated that Kotick will remain in his position until the end of at least 2023 to help with the merger of both companies.

In order to get the deal over the line, Microsoft defeated the Federal Trade Commission in a court case, and bowed to pressure from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority by carving out the cloud gaming rights to Activision Blizzard games and selling them to Ubisoft. Microsoft signed agreements with PlayStation, Nintendo and Nvidia. They also promised to bring Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty games and other Activision Blizzard titles on competing consoles or cloud platforms in the next 10 years.

What it gets in return is ownership of some of the biggest names in gaming, including annual shooter franchise Call of Duty from Activision; King’s all-conquering mobile game series Candy Crush; and Blizzard’s Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch universes. There’s also a treasure trove of currently unused, or underused, gaming properties in the Activision vault, including Guitar Hero, StarCraft, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro. And the deal opens up the possibility of any and all Activision Blizzard games being added to Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service — including Call of Duty. (Activision Blizzard has said this won’t happen before 2024, while Phil Spencer told Xbox staff to expect more information about Game Pass “in the coming months.”)

Microsoft and its Xbox Game Studios development and publishing arm also now take control of a raft of game studios, including Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, and of course Blizzard’s internal teams. Many of these studios, especially Blizzard, have been embroiled in controversy and unrest for years over their workplace culture and Activision Blizzard’s management style, and some employees are reportedly looking forward to a new regime under Microsoft. Microsoft has already paved the way for smooth relations with the Activision Blizzard workforce by stating its pro-union approach, earning the Communication Workers of America’s endorsement of the deal.

“I’ve long admired the work of Activision, Blizzard, and King, and the impact they’ve had on gaming, entertainment, and pop culture,” Xbox head Phil Spencer said in Microsoft’s announcement. “Whether it was late nights spent playing the Diablo IVGather the family for our weekly rec room gathering, and enjoy the campaign together with your friends. Guitar HeroThe night or going on a epic streak Candy CrushAmong my favorite gaming experiences, I can attribute them to the studios that created these games. This is an incredible opportunity to have such legendary teams join Xbox.

“As one team, we’ll learn, innovate, and continue to deliver on our promise to bring the joy and community of gaming to more people,” he added. “We’ll do this in a culture that strives to empower everyone to do their best work, where all people are welcome, and is centered on our ongoing commitment of gaming for everyone. We are intentional about inclusion in everything we do at Xbox — from our team to the products we make and the stories we tell, to the way our players interact and engage as a wider gaming community.”