Microsoft’s bid is $95 (about PLN 378) per share. It’s about 45 percent. More than the value of Activision stock at Friday’s close. Previously, Activision shares rose about 38 percent. It amounts to 65.39 USD (about PLN 260), before trading in it was stopped due to the disclosure of information about the acquisition – described by Reuters.

“Games are currently the most dynamic and exciting category of entertainment on all platforms and will play a major role in the development of the Metaverse platforms,” ​​Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement.

Reuters explained that the demand for video games has increased during the pandemic as consumers are spending more time at home and playing games is increasingly becoming their source of entertainment.

Activision has produced games like “Call of Duty” and “Overwatch”. This gives Microsoft’s Xbox gaming platform an edge over Sony’s Playstation, which has enjoyed steadier streaming of exclusive games for years.

Bobby Kotik is expected to remain in his role and continue as CEO of Activision Blizzard.

Today there is an entry on the Microsoft Twitter account announcing the deal.

Last week, rival video game producer Take-Two Interactive Software announced that it would buy “FarmVille” creator Zynga for $11 billion in cash and stock (about PLN 44 billion), which was also one of the largest acquisitions in industry history.

CD Projekt, shortly after the information about the acquisition, grew up to 7.5%, but the increase later subsided, and at closing it was only 1.6%. The announcement of the acquisition had a slight positive impact on the smaller companies from the sector in the Water and Wastewater Exchange. The positive reaction to CD Projekt’s share price today should come as no surprise, Ubisoft shares behaved in a similar fashion. In an interview with PAP Biznes, Bawish Sogalski, Director of Rockbridge TFI, said investors are falling behind in re-rating multiples of the world’s largest developers, which is perfectly normal with a better feeling.

According to the director, the high premium on market valuation that Microsoft pays may be due to the fact that the price was set in advance, somewhat separate from the stock exchange, and did not take into account corporate governance issues. In the middle of last year, a lawsuit was filed in California for sexual harassment with Activision Blizzard and gender discrimination. This led to a sharp drop in the share price, down from around $90. Under $60 according to Sogalsky, this unique position makes it difficult to replicate such a high reward in subsequent transactions in the industry.

The scale of the acquisition is so large that some market watchers are seeking the approval of the monopoly office. Pawe Sugalski thinks there won’t be much focus. – Given the number of games on the market, it is difficult to imagine a monopoly, and the number of studies is huge – he said.

The director of Rockbridge TFI considers the acquisition a very aggressive move by Microsoft, which will boost the main subscription service Game Pass (used by more than 25 million people), under which Xbox gamers can access many games for a fixed monthly fee. The company appears to have adopted a strategy of addicting gamers to Game Pass: Microsoft is either buying a major game developer or entering into a partnership agreement to offer its games upon subscription. Now they just lack the library of a large Asian company, such as Square Enix or Nintendo, to complete the library – such rumors have surfaced as well. And assess that Microsoft’s strategy is expensive, but thanks to it, it is currently winning the current console war.

According to Sugalski, the current price for Game Pass – PLN 54.99 in Poland – is dumping, which severely affects competitive Sony. The acquisition of Activision Blizzard is another problem for Microsoft’s Japanese competitor.

– The current situation can be compared to the famous console wars of the past. The Japanese company has to respond to Game Pass, rumors have already circulated about it in the form of a service called “Spartacus”, but at least at first it will not be as good as the competitor’s product. It seems that in order to defend itself in any way in this clash, Sony needs to buy another major gaming product. Only Take-Two Interactive comes to mind – rumors of such a deal appeared in March 2019. The problems of PlayStation players can be seen in the situation with Bethesda, which after its acquisition by Microsoft announced that the long-awaited title “Starflied” will be released exclusively on consoles Xbox controller – Sogalsky said.

The increasing standardization of the industry and the strengthening of subscription services are not good for smaller studios that have limited opportunities to collaborate with platform owners. – With dozens of games to choose from, a Game Pass user will always find something for themselves. Buying more games for this purpose, eg small independent producers, is almost a miracle. If Sony launches similar services, the indie gaming world will be divided into those with connections with platform owners and producing high-quality games, and others who will likely focus on Steam and PC sales, Sogalsky said.

– It can be seen in Poland, where only the largest studios cooperate with Game Pass, and there are no games from small producers – he added.

Activision Blizzard includes the following brands: “Warcraft”, “Diablo”, “Overwatch”, “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush”. After the acquisition of Microsoft, which, among other things, is set to become the company that produces the Xbox, the third largest video game company in the world in terms of revenue, after Tencent and Sony.