What does Microsoft mean by the massive acquisition of Activision Blizzard for Force Metaverse?

On January 8, 2022, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Activision Blizzard for $95 per share on total cash exchange of $68.7 billion (estimated.It will be the biggest purchase in the history of the video game industry.

Purchases include purchases of iconic products from Activision Blizzard and King Studios such as World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, as well as the world's top athletics esports events.

This acquisition will support Microsoft's growth in mobile, PC, console, and cloud and expand Microsoft's core base of metaverse design and support.

Calculations show that the acquisition represents a value of 45% and the equivalent value is approximately 74 billion dollars. The exchange has been approved by the board of directors of both parties and is expected to close in 2023 as agreed.

The completion of the acquisition will expand Microsoft's gaming business and make Microsoft one of the largest aftermarket companies in the world after Tencent and Sony.

Satya Nadella, President and CEO of Microsoft, said: "We have invested heavily in global content, community and the cloud," said Satya Nadella, President and CEO of Microsoft, in a press release. hurry. . . He entered a new era.

According to Satya Nadella, the Metaverse will "change the way we interact". "Games" is the most entertaining and exciting game today and will play a major role in transforming the metaverse.

Microsoft has acknowledged that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard Games will play a key role in improving Microsoft's Metaverse.

Gaming technology is accelerating the corporate "metaverse"

Analysts predict that the merger between Microsoft and Activision will lead to more exciting new games, from gaming industries to information technology.

It may sound strange, but the game has had a major impact on the information technology industry in areas such as online collaboration, cloud computing, intelligence and technology of virtual markets and crypto- currencies.

For Microsoft CIOs and other company executivesMetaverse offers a wide range of digital-focused concepts in key business environments such as virtual reality in virtual environments, in-house experiences, 3D demos, digital shopping, and more business and support services.in-game avatarbrother's greed.

Ray Wang, founder and chief analyst of computer consulting firm Constellation Research Inc., said of the acquisition yesterday, "We view it as the first move into the metaverse industry."

The company estimates that the metaverse market is expected to reach $21.7 trillion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of 38.6%.

Microsoft's Xbox division, which owns Minecraft and Doom, includes World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, and Call of Duty by Activision. Photo: ariana ruiz/zuma press

Constellation is a collaboration between Activision and the founder of Fortnite, Epic Games Inc. and Active Theory LLC.

Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper said, "Every company wants to reach consumers through the metaverse, whether they're communicating, advertising, or doing business with customers. This is a virtual reality company. ( First put via videoconference on Skype and Tim Draper on Elon Musk's SpaceX and other tech companies)

Draper said innovations in the gaming industry have always had a huge impact. Virtual money created by gaming companies, for example, has made its way to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

"The Metaverse is real and I think 'Ready, Player One World' will become a big part of the business," Draper said.

Joost van Dreunen, professor of video game marketing at NYU's Stern School of Business, says more and more technologies are being developed to support non-commercial applications, making their way into the global economy. For example, Slack Technologies Inc. Desktop chat tools started as a messaging platform for video games. As of December 2020, IT giant ITforce Salesforce Inc. has announced that it will acquire Slack for approximately $27 billion.

Selon Draper,The application of sports techniques at work brings depth and variety to the same type of communication.Companies will consider integrating these games with other communication platforms.

Sally Earnshaw, CEO of Gallagher Consulting, said: “The technology is not yet mature. There is not enough integration. Shared words or patterns shared so far. But there will be more virtual machines. Soon. in the office. "

The interviews in the metaverse

In an interview with NPR's podcast, Washington Post technical news analyst Will Oremus also expressed his thoughts on the purchase.

signal:Why is Microsoft spending so much money on game companies? How did you get to this stage to create the “Next Internet”, the metaverse everyone is talking about?

For young people, games can create more conversations (conversations, meetings, etc.). When chatting online, connect and play with your friends (including WeChat, QQ, Facebook, Instagram, App or SMS).

In a way, the game is a new social network.Microsoft knows that gaming is today's biggest and fastest way to entertain. I think what Microsoft is trying to achieve is a combination of gaming and social, and a combination of social and functional.

signal:Why do people who don't care about sports or the internet care who created the Metaverse?

I think there are still a lot of non-gamers who don't like the game. But my numbers are down and the game is very popular now.

It's like asking everyone in 2012. Why don't some people like being in the media? People will respond. Why should we care about the media if we don't get into the media themselves? This was a major Q&A in 2012, when only about a third of people used social media. Asking these questions again today, most people will answer: what? We all use social media.

I think the game is going that way. Games are industries that compete with the movie industry based on the amount of time people spend playing.

In the future, sports will be integrated into people's jobs, communities and lifestyles. For example, logging into a game platform, starting a game, moving to a final after the game is over, and using social software to request a phone conversation with a colleague.

The development of the Metaverse still has a long way to go, but the big news that happened once made people think: "The Metaverse seems to be coming sooner than I thought."

Liens:

This article first appeared at https://news.microsoft.com/2022/01/18/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of- gaming-to-everyone-on-all-Type/

This article was first published at https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsofts-activision-deal-may-bring-metaverse-to-enterprise-tech-11642554025

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1073939239