First Bethesda, now Activision Blizzard Microsoft’s grip on the gaming scene grows by the day, which spells both good and bad news
In 2020, Microsoft bought ZeniMax, which is the parent company of beloved game maker Bethesda Softworks. The over $8 billion price tag for the acquisition made many headlines back in the day, adding to the perception that the Bill Gates-founded tech giant is just a monopolist, an evil mammoth that plans to take over gaming as a whole.
But it all changed after the company bought Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest game makers in the world, for a whopping $68.7 billion.
It is no longer a matter of perception, but rather a reality: Microsoft has set its sights on being the biggest monopoly in the history of technology, and gaming for that matter.
As always, the coin has two sides.
Let’s take a look at the cons first.
A growing monopoly
This is certainly not the first time the Windows and Xbox maker has been accused of being a monopoly.
Even in the last millennium, the company’s then-CEO Gates received the worst possible news.
On Nov. 5, 1999, United States Judge Thomas Penfield announced that Microsoft, which was only known as an operating system and PC peripherals maker back then, was indeed a monopoly and a very evil one at that: A company that utilizes the power in its hands to crush would-be rivals.
“Microsoft enjoys so much power in the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems that if it wished to exercise this power solely in terms of price, it could charge a price for Windows substantially above that which could be charged in a competitive market,” the U.S. court findings said back in late 1999.
“Moreover, it could do so for a significant period of time without losing an unacceptable amount of business to competitors. In other words, Microsoft enjoys monopoly power in the relevant market,” it added.
Since then, there has been much talk about how evil a company Microsoft is; and Bill Gates himself has been the subject of many silly conspiracy theories as well.
But it’s not you or me to decide whether Microsoft is officially a monopoly, even though it is clearly monopolistic. Nevertheless, it’s up to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to probe the situation and see if what Microsoft is doing with large acquisitions actually harms competition in the gaming industry or not.
What’s good news for Microsoft is that competition is still very harsh in the gaming sector with hundreds of game studios and publishers, big and small alike. Nevertheless, the risk is obvious: In the near or distant future, that the FTC may decide that Microsoft is growing too monopolistic and rule that it must split. But until that happens, the company is in the clear and is sure to make tons of money thanks to the wide spectrum of its intellectual property (IP) such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch and many other titles that Activision Blizzard, which now belongs to Microsoft, holds in its hands.
But the best thing is yet to be said.
The miraculous Game Pass
Probably the best consequence of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is the sheer possibility that all future triple-A titles to be released by the latter may be on Game Pass on the very day they are out.
Just imagine having access to the latest Call of Duty release on day one, only because you’re a Game Pass subscriber.
Microsoft will probably bring all the new releases by the studios under its umbrella to the Game Pass on day one, just like it has done with Halo Infinite, the Forza series and other major titles.
I am – of course – not paid by Microsoft or anything, but I feel more and more obliged to praise Game Pass everyday. It’s just a brilliant idea, and the cheapest option to have access to a vast library of games for the fraction of the price of a single triple-A title.
Yes, you do not actually own any of the games at your disposal, but who really cares?
Just pay a couple of bucks each month – worth two cups of coffee at most – and have tons of beautiful games ready to be enjoyed legally, at no additional cost.
So, from a consumer’s perspective, Microsoft’s move to buy Activision Blizzard is a dream come true.
But before we end this week’s column, one last thing…
Fire Kotick already!
Probably the worst aspect of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is the fact that – according to the official statement – longtime abuser Bobby Kotick will keep his seat.
“Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth,” Microsoft said in the official statement announcing the acquisition. The statement kind of implied that Kotick may be fired after the deal is done, but it’s still in a gray area.
“Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming,” the company added in the statement, implying that Kotick might leave his position after the acquisition is fully realized.
Nevertheless, I would expect some bravery from a company of Microsoft’s caliber and announce that they will fire Kotick from the beginning.
Kotick is a well-known workplace bully and sexual abuser. It’s a shame for Microsoft to not have announced his departure from now on.
Nevertheless, at least for PR purposes, I expect Microsoft to fire him once they’re at the helm.
I hope they will, so that Activision Blizzard employees experience humane treatment without fear of abuse.
All that said, I just hope that Microsoft’s acquisition will favor the consumers and create a better work environment at Activision Blizzard.
But as I said many times before; Game Pass is a gem that we shouldn’t take for granted, especially people like me living in developing countries.
Because without it, gaming would largely be an impossible prospect for millions of people. That’s why I’m OK with Game Pass dominating the scene, and Microsoft being a larger monopoly than it already is.