In the video game industry, the purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft has caused a lot of ink to flow over the past few months… and it should still be the case for quite a while!
Featured Image: Activision Blizzard
In an interview in the podcast The Verge’s DecoderPhil Spencer, who heads up all things video games for Microsoft, made it clear why the company went all out to afford Activision Blizzard.
And no, the prospect of having the franchise call of duty in its bosom is not what delights the most. It is rather the desire to break into the gaming market on smart phones that interests Microsoft.
In fact, Microsoft’s market share will decline as mobile gaming grows and console gaming stagnates. And to conclude: “It is essential, if you try to manage a game business on a global scale, to meet your customers where they want to play, and increasingly, mobile is the place where people want to play.
The idea that Activision is only interested in Call of Duty on console is an invention that could be created by our competitor.
As a reminder, Activision Blizzard has, among other things, the game candy Crush in its catalog. This very attractive game has rallied many players on smart phones and many then tried to copy this success.
Will this argument strike a chord with the various authorities who ensure that agreements of this type will not harm competition?
It will be considered for sure, but at the same time it will be impossible to dissociate the whole whole transaction… in which there are games like call of duty and Overwatch who are involved!
One thing is certain, we cannot contradict Spencer on one point: it is true that Microsoft has every interest in catching up and breaking into the mobile games market.