Game News Microsoft Activision Blizzard: a takeover driven by mobile, one of the main assets for Phil Spencer (Xbox)
In the wake of the Internet page opened on Microsoft to explain the workings behind the takeover of the Redmond firm on Activision Blizzard, Phil Spencer spoke for 10 minutes around it.
Summary
- “It was really their mobile capability that was first and foremost unique”
- The mobile, but not only
“It was really their mobile capability that was first and foremost unique”
Signed but not sealed, the $68.7 billion deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is the biggest deal in video game history. A strong acquisition for Microsoft which could get its hands on many flagship franchises on the market. In an interview with Cornelia Kutterer (Senior Director of European Government Affairs at Microsoft), Xbox director Phil Spencer explains one of the reasons for this acquisition:
When looking at ABK (Activision Blizzard King), the majority of their players are playing their mobile titles. It can be the Candy Crush game that many have on their phones, but also the very good mobile versions of their strong licenses (…) It was really their ability on mobiles that was first and foremost unique in terms of of what could move Xbox forward.
Something that is not surprising, especially when we look at the figures achieved by the titles recently released by Activision Blizzard King on mobiles: Call of Duty: Mobile exceeded one billion in revenue (a milestone rarely reached so quickly) while that Diablo Immortal, a mobile game installed in the universe of the Blizzard license criticized for its economic model, has made very large receipts in the weeks following its launch.
The mobile, but not only
A strong statement that underlines Microsoft’s interest in the field of mobile games, already highlighted by the Xbox Game Pass system and especially the cloud gaming. Phil Spencer hammers it home every chance he gets, Xbox and Microsoft want to bring gaming to as many people as possible. In this sense, it is also the long history of Blizzard and its licenses that is worthy of interest for them. This is what he explains, still at the microphone of Cornelia Kutterer:
Their history with World of Warcraft, Starcraft or Diablo as fundamental PC licenses is something that makes us think that we could improve our portfolio in terms of the directions taken by Xbox and the Game Pass. We think that will be a big advantage.
This agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King, although on the right trackmust still be the subject of numerous additional investigations by various authorities responsible for determining whether this deal does not conflict with the laws around competition.