Microsoft Completes Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard King – News
Kotick goes away in 80 days with a golden parachute instead of today in handcuffs.
After multiple government delays, the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard (King) has finally closed.
The deal, announced on January 18, 2022 closed this morning and saw the Xbox manufacturer acquire the Call of Duty behemoth for US$68.7bn. Integration will begin immediately, and notorious ABK CEO Robert “Bobby” Kotick will leave the combined company on January 1.
The deal was subject to multiple restrictions, including assurances from Microsoft that Call of Duty would remain multiplatform and even come to Nintendo platforms for a decade in some fashion. Restrictions include a UK requirement that Ubisoft handle cloud services for Call of Duty in the UK, and Microsoft games coming to other cloud platforms in Europe.
