Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard, publisher of ‘Call of Duty,’ for $68.7 billion
Video game giants Call of Duty and World of Warcraft have a new home: Microsoft.
On Tuesday, Microsoft announced it will acquire Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind Call of Duty, one of the top-selling video games in the U.S., along with several other titles including Overwatch, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush.
Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal valued at $68.7 billion.
“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a statement. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”
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The announcement follows reports in November that Microsoft was evaluating its relationship with the video game publisher amid allegations Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick knew for years about sexual misconduct claims at the company.
The state of California sued Activision Blizzard last year, claiming the publisher fostered a sexist culture and paid women less than men despite doing more work.
Employees at Activision Blizzard staged walkouts urging the company remove Kotick from the top executive position and make changes to the company’s culture.
In its statement, Microsoft said Kotick will stay on as CEO of the publisher, reporting to Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Gaming.
This story is developing.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.