Activision’s $69 Billion Sale to Microsoft Draws Challenge

A Swedish state-run pension fund sued Activision Blizzard Inc. and Microsoft Corp., claiming their planned $69 billion merger was rigged to exploit the beleaguered gaming giant’s sexual harassment crisis and protect its CEO.

[Thundercat77]

"Microsoft deliberately used the harassment scandal and its commercial advantage over Activision to offer Kotick a way to save his own skin. The corporation colluded with Kotick and the board to help them avoid the personal and professional consequences of this scandal."

This is getting very very ugly for Phil and Kotick. This "deal" has many wrong things and now we are talking about "criminal implications"

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft drops the deal amidst all these scandals and corruption. It could even cost Phil his career.

[Sonyslave3]

Lol this sheet ain’t stopping nothing lol Microsoft trying to save Bobby’s skin 😭😭 man get out of here. Microsoft already hire a third party to investigate and handle any scandals from them and soon Activison Blizzard.

People already tried this so many times in USA and failed

[SullysCigar]

Something fishy - and potentially 'fraudy' - about all this. I expect Phil's Sphincter's a little twitchy about now.

[Hofstaderman]

Phil says “It wasn’t me”

[MrVux000]

I wonder what will happen in next episode of "Phil Spencer Says" ... the plot of this show is so good it almost puts ''Jim Lying'' show to shame.

[just_looken]

A busniess buyout is not all on board and compaines can be corrupt? i am so shock i tell you /s

All this Microsoft activision talk yet ea own's the majority of racing/sports game ip's.

[babadivad]

I honestly wonder how many people here would be against this deal if Sony were attempting to purchase Activision.

[just_looken]

@neutral

In your list you forgot Embracer has been like pacman last few years that list was 3x larger but Embracer purchsed koch media then slowly ate there way across asia/europe/austrailia and is on north America right now.

They can buy any one of those studios also either the full company or a chunk at a time.

[neutralgamer1992]

Sonyslave3

Your opinion is well known. You want this deal to go through but fact of the matter is now this deal has a very high probability of not going through

Thundercat77

It's common sense because Activision were getting so much bad PR and suddenly this olive branch was offered. What's totally absurd is Phil said he is against less gamers getting to play yet since they Ms have acquired so many studios and Bethesda and now are trying to act like a 2 trillion dollar little engine that could against the big bad PlayStation

I am a Xbox fan and hate this deal if it goes through. This won't help me but if this deal goes through Sony will retaliate by acquiring some of their Japanese publishers so as a gamer I want more options not less

Square enix
Ubi
Take two
EA
Embracer
Sega
Namo
Capcom
CD project red

Should all be off limit and should remain 3rd party

And please stop comparing timed exclusive content to permanently exclusive games

[neutralgamer1992]

just_looken

Let me be very clear I have no horse in this race but I am against all console makers staying away from acquiring publishers

Difference is they buy and keep games on all platforms. Also if you look at the last few years they have remade some really awesome PS2 era games and they support a healthy AA market. Back during zps2, GameCube and Xbox we had very healthy mid size publishers but now it seems either it's a AAA game or indies

What use to be cheat codes or unlockables via playing is being sold to us as micro transactions, we had publishers like midway and midway willing to take chances on smaller but very good projects like Darksiders and red faction etc

Back than games had to be something special to get 10/10 and now if a big game doesn't get 10/10 fans harass the reviewer

Times have changed

[dcbronco]

The Swedish government was willing to chase Julian Assange across the planet for nothing but can't arrest a Microsoft employee? Nonsense.

Fake news.

[Godmars290]

At the same time, didn't Phil literally admit that Activision's scandal's were his excuse for buying it? That he saw blood in the water.

[Andrew336]

In what universe would Spencer say this? Delusionalville where half you people commenting on here must be from to think Phil or anyone is gonna lose their job over this acquisition attempt?

[343_Guilty_Spark]

It won't stop the deal.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Man this deal could potentially be canned so at this rate.

[DarkZane]

At this point, it's very likely to be canned.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

It will go through. It already has in a few countries.

[isarai]

What's more concerning is Phil willing to shelter Bobby from any consequences of sexual harassment. Likely using it as leverage in the deal. These people are f#@ked in the head if that's the case, which seems like it is, based on the fact that Bobby is still there.

[Sonyslave3]

🤔 Ms don’t owned ABK yet so they can’t fire or change anything of the company

[isarai]

You would think either Activision would've gotten rid of him, or Phil would have him gone as a prerequisite for the deal. Either way the only logical reason he's still there is that this deal somehow has that outcome in the balance, when it really shouldn't.

[Thundercat77]

Very concerning. That's why I believe this deal can cost Phis his career at Xbox. By the way things are getting hotter and escalating every week, is seems obvious there are major concerns here that needs to be investigated.

[thesoftware730]

Phil Spencer will not lose his job over a attempted merger not going through. He is leading MS out of a dump that they have been in with the Xbox one...no way they fire him.

As a matter of fact he is set to receive an award next month.

[badz149]

@thesoftware730

"He is leading MS out of a dump that they have been in with the Xbox one"

err...you do know that was still Phil's doing, right? Don Mattrick left I think even before the xbone's launch.

[sinspirit]

@thesoftware730

He lead them into the "dump" with the XBox One. He was in charge of the european studios, Rare and Lionhead for example, and made one shut down and the other all the og members left the same time that he eventually got promoted to being in charge of all their gaming studios and pushed everyone to focus on Kinect, especially his European studios he was already in charge of. The last half of 360s lifespan when no games were coming, it was his fault. Ever since then, everyone keeps wishing for the same level of gaming, innovation, and effort since XBox original and 360 days. That award nomination seems satirical at this point.

[thesoftware730]

Yes, yes that was then, look at the shift...why would they get rid of him now when he is in fact leading Xbox in an upward direction?

No matter the talk about major exclusives and all the other jazz, the Series systems is once again serious competition, and selling very well, and obviously cannot be ignored, if you agree with their actions or strategy, makes no difference opposed to the facts.

[SullysCigar]

^ How exactly is Phil "leading them out of this"?

He created the problem. He's not fixing it.

The parent company is throwing money at the problem. Money he couldn't possibly have generated through xbox, thanks to his past failings.

[porkChop]

Activision's top investors and board would be the only ones that could motion to remove Bobby Kotick before the sale goes through. They weren't trying to do that before they knew about the sale, aside from one investor. So they clearly don't have any interest in doing that. Microsoft themselves cannot legally enact any changes to ABK until they actually own them. That includes firing Bobby Kotick. The closest thing they could do is include a stipulation that he resigns or is fired as soon as the sale goes through. So we'll have to see when/if the sale goes through.

[Hofstaderman]

With a payout like that should the sale go through I would gladly be fired or resign while flipping everyone off. There’s no denying Microsoft used this situation to leverage the proposed acquisition. No wonder everyone was releasing statements left right and centre, this looks bad for Microsoft’s corporate image.

[thesoftware730]

Haha, how is Phil or MS sheltering Bobby? They don't own Activision/Blizzard..they have not one say in any of their leadership roles lol.

Man, do you people think about what you type before typing or is it just agenda based comments.

[SierraGuy]

FTC was going to force the breakup of Activision blizzard regardless because of their scummy practices...that's why Activision blizzard is trying to rush the deal and Microsoft is going along with it.

Scummy scummy Microsoft. They support abusers and sexual harassment and are using it in their favor.

[Profchaos]

That's why all the buzzwords relating to equal workplaces and sexual harassment these companies spew are nothing more than pr speak they don't walk the walk at the exec level. There doesn't seem to be a single company that actually stands up to the ideals they lay out to the general public yet they continue to pretend they care.

[badboyz09]

Can we stop talking about this!😐😐

[porkChop]

Good luck with that lmao. It's easy pickings for news stories. Doesn't matter what is said or who says it, if it can even remotely be tied to the merger journos will run wild with it. It's like reporting on Trump, Biden, or Trudeau, anything and everything will be turned into news.

[gold_drake]

oh dear this is getting very ugly.

[TheColbertinator]

Microsoft will not be stopped

[AuraAbjure]

People can always vote with their wallets, if all else fails.

[AuraAbjure]

Aaaaaaand things just got ugly. That's why I recommend fellow US citizens examine the contents of the book "Taoist Yoga" by Eric Yudelove. It helps people regulate their sexual energy, AKA their sex hormones, and hopefully help reduce sexual harassment.

[CobraKai]

This deal can go either way, but the reality is Kotick will prolly never face any consequences regarding the scandal. In fact, either way, he’ll retire incredibly rich.

[Welshy]

P R O L L Y
I'm aware I'm being "that guy" and know noone like a grammar/spelling nazi, but this one really pisses in my corn flakes.

To keep it on topic though, I 100% agree. Some people are just "too big to fail" and unfortunately that creeper Kotick is one of them.

[CobraKai]

All good. You’re not a grammar nazi. If you were, you woulda written “no one”. Lol.

It’s funny tho. I’ve been using “prolly” for years, and when I wrote this particular comment I had this feeling it was gonna rub someone the wrong way.

[Welshy]

Touché, sir.

If you've been using it for years, I guess you'll "prolly" continue to use it and we'll meet again in the next article 😂

[CobraKai]

I prolly will and noone will stop me. BWAHAHAHA

[agnosticgamer]

If this deal falls through... I wonder where they will invest those $ 70 billion dollars in gaming. Many companies can be snatched up for that... It probably includes EA. You know MS probably drafting up contingency plans. But I don't think this legal challenge will end it. I think this is actually very weak. I am talking about the possibility of the US-based FTC challenging it. That could possibly end it. I'm personally mixed about it going through. I don't want to see any company get too powerful, but I do think this will let MS better compete with Sony's first parties. I don't really care either way. I haven't played a call of duty since Original Modern Warfare.

[Hofstaderman]

Don’t underestimate the sway of the European Commission. Europe is a massive territory. If it doesn’t go through there we may be seeing the start of a block.

[agnosticgamer]

I'm simply saying I don't think this case is strong... It has been brought up a lot, I don't think there is much to it. If this deal gets blocked in any territory I'm pretty sure it's over including Europe. I don't think this court case will end it. If the US-based FTC sues... It won't be based on old settled sexual harassment claims that Microsoft has already said hired teams of lawyers to go over... If the FTC sues it will be based on the possibility of monopoly issues. The US has also tightened legal challenges for possible deals that could lead to Monopoly powers. I think that has the possibility of larger legal implications than this current challenge. It is already rumored the FTC has an abnormally large number of agents reviewing this case which usually leads to a legal challenge.

[shinoff2183]

Heres an idea. You ask what would they do with the 70 billion dollars. Start some studios. The same sh they shouldve been trying to do. Theyve been in gaming for 20 plus years they should have it together by now.

[agnosticgamer]

They also want these deals to expand the content and exclusive content on GamePass. Starting a new studio from the ground up doesn't make sense with growing GamePass exclusive content. They also then control well-established IPs. Way...Way more upside for them buying studios with content they can immediately shift to GamePass... Then building a studio and waiting 6 years for their first AAA game offering.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Sega and TakeTwo

Then they'll make a long term exclusive content, GP marketing deal with ATVI

[anubusgold]

Sony is pretty stupid they think they cant get blacklisted. Ea blacklisted sega during the sega saturn and dreamcast days. They also cut off nintendo and ubisoft did too. To lie to regulators to get their way may just make activision cut them off for good.

[shinoff2183]

Anubusgold.

Get rid of the b in your name and youll be spot on.

[GoodnessGreatness]

Hehe. 69

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

This is getting UUUUGLY!

[Petebloodyonion]

Wow, this is a new one! How many ppl sold their company, step down, or went into retirement after a Metoo scandal?
Of course, MS is buying them at a discount price because of the scandal how is this different from all similar scenarios?
And what should be the alternative? that Activation no sells, stocks go down and PPL boycott Blizzard/Activision games?
I have no problem with regulation checking but having ppl hoping that ppl lose their job so the owner can face potential justice is another.

[Rocosaurus]

If the deal doesn't go through, Activision will just sell of their studios and IPs piecemeal to MS.

[Welshy]

That's just acquisition with extra steps, if they block acquisition outright, why would they allow that?

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

It will definitely 100% go through.
It just won't go through without concessions. The whole point of the investigations by competition authorities is to determine which concessions would make sense.
Now if the concessions asked are too big then MS might decide to give up.

[C-H-E-F]

Sony aint having it, and my thing about it as well is this... why isn't Nintendo stepping up with Sony? I know they are a PG company/gaming company etc. But Sony does make a valid point regarding COD. But also, we know if micorosft buys Activision they will destroy COD like they did all other companies they bought. Sony is lowkey fighting for the betterment of the players.

I really hope Sony, takes this time to bring SOCOM back!!! I think with competitive gaming at the highest right now, SOCOM would be great to resurrect not with the Socom 4 vibe but more 1/2 shhh even 3 would do. Sony is going to need to bring their exclusives to combat this if the sale does fall through.

[thesoftware730]

Wow, what a comment. This guy actually believes Sony gives a poop about him.

My man... Sony is only attempting to block this deal, not because of some righteous benevolent act, but to keep the billions of dollars in revenue they get from Call of Duty.

[shinoff2183]

Nintendo aint stepping up because ms will still put most of the games on nintendo consoles still.

[RetroCaptainSteve]

*grabs popcorn*

[kayoss]

$69 billion?? This cost as much as Disney buying Fox.