Microsoft now officially owns Activision Blizzard

Early this morning, the CMA officially approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We weren't sure if the deal would close today or early next week but as it turns out, Microsoft was eager to get things squared away. Activision Blizzard King is now officially part of the Xbox division. 

This afternoon, Xbox head, Phil Spencer, published a newly penned blog post confirming that Activision Blizzard King is now part of Xbox. The deal has closed, granting Microsoft ownership over some of gaming's most historic franchises, including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, World of Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft, Candy Crush Saga and more.

To commemorate the occasion, Microsoft even went through the effort of putting together a trailer, showcasing some of Activision Blizzard's biggest franchises alongside the games we already know Xbox for. Interestingly, we see older IP like Guitar Hero and Prototype make an appearance here, indicating that Microsoft has an interest in bringing those back.

Spencer's blog post also has an interesting note towards the end, saying: “Whether you play on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC or mobile, you are welcome here – and will remain welcome, even if Xbox isn’t where you play your favourite franchise”.

This indicates that established franchises from Activision Blizzard will continue to be multiplatform. New IP will likely be a different story.

One of the bigger benefits of this acquisition is that Microsoft can make the necessary changes to put Activision Blizzard's recent management issues behind them. In recent years, workers at Activision Blizzard studios have staged protests, calling out company leadership for ignoring issues like harassment and unfair treatment.

As a result, a lot of Activision Blizzard employees are looking to unionise. The CWA, the largest comms and media union in the US, has already commented, stating that it is pleased with the acquisition, as Microsoft had agreed to a Union neutrality agreement, making it easier for employees to unionise without backlash. Additionally, Microsoft will apply those same principles to unionisation efforts at ZeniMax studios.

Through organised efforts, employees will be able to bargain for fairer contracts and work conditions. Given that the games industry has been historically anti-union, this change could end up being a big one, making these studios among the more desirable places to work, a move that in turn will attract talent as Microsoft bolsters its efforts to turn Xbox into a true gaming powerhouse.

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KitGuru Says: For me, the biggest part of this acquisition has always been getting Activision Blizzard away from its current shareholders and getting some fresh leadership and guidance in. A couple of years ago, it certainly seemed like the company was on its way towards self-destruction and now, that can hopefully be avoided. 

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