A couple weeks ago Microsoft committed to the biggest gaming acquisition in history: $68 billion for Activision Blizzard. I studied the acquisition, Microsoft’s statements, Satya Nadella’s statements, and insights from other commentators and came up with 11 massive opportunities for Microsoft in gaming and beyond.
From my post on my client Singular’s blog:
At $68 billion, Microsoft’s pending purchase of Blizzard is the biggest gaming acquisition in history. That’s 2.6X what Microsoft paid for LinkedIn, almost 10X what Microsoft paid for the carcass of Nokia in 2013, and almost 9X what Microsoft paid for Skype.
Why?
And what benefits does Microsoft get from Activision Blizzard that could possibly repay that king’s ransom?
Well, the 11 opportunities I see right now are:
- Revenue for Game Pass as Microsoft builds a Netflix for games
- Protecting future growth space as the gaming land-grab continues
- Defensive move on metaverse hype
- Building and extending an ad empire
- Platform supremacy by going beyond platform
- Identity graph, leading to multiple synergies and opportunities
- IP licensing franchises bonanza
- Big beachhead in the fast-growing segment of gaming: mobile
- Creator economy presence
- eSports opportunities
- Relevance to the masses (that’s you and me)