As of 2022, Microsoft has bought the gaming company Activision Blizzard for 68.7 Billion dollars. This is a huge transaction and is the biggest buy-out in the history of the entire gaming industry, so much that it worries many gamers. This could lead to Microsoft responding to the abuse claims from the Activision offices and making changes to the workspace.  and making the work environment more friendly. Now that one of the biggest gaming companies has been bought by Microsoft, so who says they won’t buy more?

In fact, this isn’t the first time Microsoft bought out a studio. They have bought Mojang Studios, the makers of Minecraft for 2.5 Billion, and have bought Bethesda Softworks, who own studios that make games like Skyrim, Doom, and Fallout for 7.5 Billion. However, these purchases don’t come close to what Microsoft paid for Activision. 

All of these purchases worry gamers, and there is reason to worry. With Microsoft buying up more and more studios, this leaves less and less for the competition, like PlayStation, Nintendo, and Steam. Now that Microsoft has control of Activision, they could make more games entirely exclusive to XBOX and PC.

 Luckily, Microsoft has a good track record of porting games they own to other platforms. They have already confirmed that the popular shooter series Call of Duty will remain on all platforms, as well as other games, but that doesn’t mean some won’t be exclusive.

There are good things to come from this purchase, too. Activision has had a record for abuse in their offices, as claimed by several employees that have worked there. Activision’s CEO, Bobby Kotick, even often refused to help said employees. If Microsoft has control of Activision, they can put a stop to the abuse, and Kotick won’t have any power over Activision.

This purchase is being finalized as of the time of writing, so things that could change. All in all, Microsoft as well as Activision are firm on this purchase. No one really knows whether it will be a good or a bad thing for the industry, but all everybody can do is predict the effects of the purchase and wait.