Pushing Buttons: the Microsoft-Activision deal is a chance to transform game developm

[joselync]

Well. There’s only one thing I was going to be talking about in this week’s Pushing Buttons, isn’t there? Since Microsoft very inconsiderately announced the biggest acquisition in gaming history just after last week’s edition went out, the entire games industry has been in a flap. The $69bn deal to buy Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Overwatch publisher Activision Blizzard absolutely dwarfs the $7.5bn that the house of Xbox paid for Zenimax/Bethesda in 2020, which already had me feeling slightly uneasy about the amount of cash being thrown around by giant corporations (see also Tencent, whose run of acquisitions shows no sign of slowing down.)

[tracym]

The Microsoft-Activision deal is a chance to transform game development. With the resources of both companies behind it, the deal could lead to new and innovative games that are more immersive and exciting for players. Microsoft has a long history of creating successful first-person shooters, while Activision is known for its popular action-adventure franchises like Call of Duty and Destiny. If the two companies can combine their strengths, they may be able to create some truly groundbreaking games.