Activision Blizzard: Not everyone is taking it deadly seriously as Microsoft is slowly taking the shape of Disney in the animated film industry (buying up everyone to avoid competition).

The year started strong enough when Microsoft and Phil Spencer announced that negotiations had been finalised over the 2021 year-end holidays, meaning the Redmond company will buy Activision Blizzard, which has sold for many times the price of Bethesda (and it’s fair to say that publisher CEO Bobby Kotick’s days in the chair are numbered). After that, it’s fair to ask when the Xbox green giant will catch the other smaller fish.

The photo below is from Twitter and was shot by HazzadorGamin in Belgium in a Cora. The French subtitle reads: “Notice for gamers: Microsoft has bought Activision! Choose your device with care!” And below in brackets Call of Duty, just to remind customers of the importance of Microsoft’s expansion…

Let’s not forget what the Xbox boss has said: Phil Spencer has already stated that they have no intention of removing Call of Duty from PlayStation and that the next three games (2022: rumoured Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II from Infinity Ward; 2023: Treyarch’s title, the team is known for Black Ops; and a new version of Call of Duty: Warzone) will still be on PlayStation 5, according to the agreements previously made and to be honoured by Microsoft.

Still, it’s funny to see retailers reacting to what looks like a very serious move by the games industry. With Activision Blizzard King (the mobile King is part of the Kotick empire), the Redmond-based company has also acquired several big franchises (Call of Duty is just one of many… Crash Bandicoot, Overwatch, Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft…). It’s a way for Microsoft to make a splash on mobile. And that’s not a negligible market even for such a huge company.

Source: JVL