ATVI workers appear to be happy about the sale given the changes it could mean https://t.co/5GYvKWdZcz

— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) January 18, 2022

Not surprised. The prospect of losing Call of Duty has investors (and fans) understandably worried. https://t.co/27y4N8FnKS

— Tony Polanco (@Romudeth) January 19, 2022

Sony stock closed -12.79% or -US$20 billion in terms of market cap in Tokyo (where it's already Wednesday).

That is more than what Take-Two is worth right now.

Total overreaction of course, but gaming tends to emotionalize investors in strange ways. https://t.co/F7DjNuvpyw

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) January 19, 2022

Activision’s stock was falling. Board members were getting anxious. And Microsoft was waiting in the wings. https://t.co/5Zbc9C9i4a @CaraRLombardo @KirstenGrind @benfritz $ATVI $MSFT

— Sarah E. Needleman (@saraheneedleman) January 19, 2022

What a scumbag!

"Let's buy a gaming news publication so we can print lies about ourselves and pretend everything is fine and that we don't sexually harass our employees!" https://t.co/aztSSkNiTx

— Josh Gaming (@JoshGamnChannel) January 19, 2022

Gamers for years: “lol Microsoft has no exclusives”

*Microsoft buys Bethesda*

Gamers: “wait”

*Microsoft buys Activision*

Gamers: “Stop!” https://t.co/q6khJuNOWF

— Treavor Bettis (@TheTreavor) January 18, 2022

Bloomberg reports that Activision, initially hesitant to sell to Microsoft, tried to see if Facebook/Meta would buy them. https://t.co/E5nLf6WvD6

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) January 19, 2022

Instead of trying to buy out publications to stop them reporting on all the insidious goings on at your shitty company, how about you put as much effort into stopping harassment in the workplace and treating your employees like human beings https://t.co/KSaF94xtzE

— Meg Bethany Koepp (@triforcemeg) January 19, 2022

Shareholders and employees of Activision Blizzard were calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign last November. Some board members were getting anxious. The solution: Microsoft. ICYMI, our deep dive on the mega-deal @CaraRLombardo @benfritz https://t.co/uOQsu1NrP9

— Kirsten Grind (@KirstenGrind) January 19, 2022

I wouldn't give this interview traffic, but rest assured it is some breathtakingly spineless bootlicking of the highest order https://t.co/dLdO5WIqfJ

— Alex Donaldson (@APZonerunner) January 18, 2022

“We realized the pipeline for talent — we just didn’t have it. And we needed to have access to somebody’s pipeline of talent. And that was a big consideration.”https://t.co/pYSnTCGw92

— Eden (@eden_holdings) January 19, 2022

"Mr. Kotick has been eager to change the public narrative about the company, and in recent weeks has suggested Activision Blizzard make some kind of acquisition, including of gaming-trade publications like Kotaku and PC Gamer" https://t.co/8NtNXk9Pou pic.twitter.com/suVx3Joofn

— Wario64 (@Wario64) January 19, 2022

imagine if Activision owned Kotaku❗❗❗ https://t.co/CswCwZkvoc

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) January 19, 2022

$900 billion Facebook cannot buy Giphy for ~$400 million

but...

$2.3 trillion Microsoft can buy Activision for $69 billion pic.twitter.com/FJTLLwe6Yo

— Rich Greenfield, LightShed ? (@RichLightShed) January 18, 2022

There’s actually no way this is real.. right? what in the actual.. https://t.co/GIac8tfykZ

— dkdynamite (@dkdynamite1) January 19, 2022

What the hell does that mean pic.twitter.com/LMESt7LNzJ

— Ed Zitron (@edzitron) January 18, 2022

In a new interview Kotick says he knows Spencer really well and they have a great relationship. https://t.co/Hd6v7hwdUi pic.twitter.com/9FbYypYC9T

— AmericanTruckSongs8 (@ethangach) January 18, 2022

This is astoundingly sycophantic, tone deaf, and in bad taste. Kotick gets zero pushback from them as he bullshits his way through this softball interview with a journo who is clearly more concerned with Call of Duty than the state of Activision. https://t.co/fISGgAkGjS pic.twitter.com/xepZeNtRaJ

— Liam Robertson (@Doctor_Cupcakes) January 18, 2022

*looks directly into the camera like i’m on the office*

damn trust exec types to not know about editorial independence https://t.co/2daGg4nYpW

— sisi jiang / 姜思琪 (@six6jiang) January 19, 2022

5. The Three C’s.

Nadella’s corporate strategy has been coalescing around cloud, content and creators. After failing to land social video service TikTok, Pinterest and Discord, Activision is the latest try, and this time it looks to be successful https://t.co/daOeQUkbVx

— Bloomberg Technology (@technology) January 18, 2022

I think all I need to say is this:

Microsoft wants to be the Netflix of games before NETFLIX can become the Netflix of games.

There we go. I did it. No thread required.

— Ashley ✨? (@AshleyEsqueda) January 18, 2022

Microsoft’s biggest acquisitions:

Activision Blizzard: $68.7 billion
Linkedin: $26.2 billion
Nuance: $19.7 billion
Skype: $8.5 billion
ZeniMax: $7.5 billion
GitHub: $7.5 bilion
Nokia phone unit: $7.2 billion
aQuantive: $6.3 billion
Mojang (Minecraft): $2.5 billion

— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) January 18, 2022

I’m on vacation today (lol) but if I were not I would be calling up some antitrust experts because Xbox buying Bethesda and now Activision sure seems like the type of horizontal merging that the DOJ frowns upon

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 18, 2022

When Candy Crush and CoD become your actual job. Microsoft x Activision Blizzard. ?❤️?https://t.co/nw4cLoaoTB pic.twitter.com/QPGt9DC2jF

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) January 18, 2022

'Activision made calls to try to find other interested parties, said the people ... . Those included Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and at least one other big company. But no other serious interest materialized.' https://t.co/eqwPTFQQkV

— Jordan Novet (@jordannovet) January 19, 2022

new Sony acquisition about to hit soon https://t.co/bgHKwbB7AY

— Theo Priestley (@tprstly) January 19, 2022

Xbox is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming. We hold all teams to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.

— Xbox (@Xbox) January 18, 2022

This is a truly stunning interview on so many levels https://t.co/Hd6v7hwdUi pic.twitter.com/JYD2og0o41

— AmericanTruckSongs8 (@ethangach) January 18, 2022

I'm sure Kotaku would have loved that! https://t.co/OqKqlw88O1 pic.twitter.com/fQjBmVmmGE

— Tom McKay (@thetomzone) January 19, 2022

Activision's board was anxious for change after revelations of sexual misconduct at the company but didn't want to push out CEO Bobby Kotick. Microsoft offered a solution to both those problems. ICYM our inside story of the MSFT-ATVI deal... https://t.co/cY0bN7Gelv

— Ben Fritz (@benfritz) January 19, 2022

Is Meta still blocked from buying a gif company?

— Damian Burns (@damianburns) January 18, 2022

This is, quite literally, what the evil company in Ready Player One was trying to do with the metaversehttps://t.co/bmrPjJoimj https://t.co/zZe0wESRis

— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) January 19, 2022

not to be dramatic, but I wouldn’t be who I am today without Xbox.

they made a game about super soldiers fighting an interstellar war accessible to 9-year-old me, and transformed the way so many of us thought about gaming & community ? https://t.co/JTDcGtUGIK

— Grace Dustin ? (@grace_dustin) January 19, 2022

What a time to be alive! Some thoughts on Microsoft + ActiveVision with my usual caveat of these being my own musing and nothing much to do with our work at Meta 1/

— Vivek Sharma (@pucknorris) January 18, 2022

“what if we bought the news so they stop being mean to me? is that on the table?” https://t.co/v2gaPuWCpx

— Hana Kim • 김하나 ?? (@_hanatwothree) January 19, 2022

It’s sort of weird to see this metaverse framing in multiple headlines/articles about the deal, they’re already moving the goalposts and having “all of video games” count as the metaverse https://t.co/0UzkjGHHF1

— ?????????? ??????????? (@Y2K_mindset) January 19, 2022

Microsoft is nearing a deal to buy Activision Blizzard, sources tell us. Deal value is nearly $70 billion. Story on @TheTerminal

— Dina Bass (@dinabass) January 18, 2022

There it is. On poor Call of Duty Vanguard sales from CEO Bobby Kotick himself: "I think people started to see that this year’s Call of Duty wasn’t performing as well." https://t.co/8nuO1BzXeO

— tae kim (@firstadopter) January 19, 2022

I’d have a VERY different feeling about today’s news had it been Facebook doing the buying… https://t.co/nnEriPEO5R

— Scott Johnson (@scottjohnson) January 19, 2022

This is way more vicious than the console wars of the 90s. Jesus https://t.co/yPttxI57tD

— FalKoopa? (@FalKoopa_) January 19, 2022

Excited that #Xbox marketing team will be back reporting directly to @XboxP3 .

One team. One Xbox. One Microsoft. ? https://t.co/gx7vkvQdzF

— Josh Munsee (@joshmunsee) January 18, 2022

I have a friend whose first day at Activision was this past Monday.

He left his job at Microsoft for the position.

— TieGuyTravis (@TieGuyTravis) January 18, 2022

Love this focus from Satya and Phil, proud of the team and culture we have here at Xbox/Microsoft. It’s encouraging to get so many positive messages from folks working inside the Activision Blizzard teams who are so happy about what this means for their future. ? https://t.co/MtrxZZh019

— Aaron Greenberg ??‍♂️?U (@aarongreenberg) January 18, 2022

Xbox head Phil Spencer reportedly "said he and Microsoft's gaming leadership team were 'disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions' at Activision.

"Behind the scenes, Spencer was working on a merger approach."https://t.co/3O1PTUcN6q

— David Gura (@davidgura) January 19, 2022

wild interview with Activision Blizzard CEO where he just completely capitulates to the fact that no one, not even the biggest independent video game company in the world, can hope to compete with Big Tech https://t.co/3GfbgSlKx5

— Gerrit De Vynck (@GerritD) January 18, 2022

Together with @ATVI_AB, we will usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive, and accessible to all. https://t.co/fF2Ig3gSfx

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) January 18, 2022

BREAKING: The WSJ reports that Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard, the troubled publisher behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, which has been facing crisis over the last year following numerous reports of sexual misconduct and discrimination. A seismic gaming deal

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 18, 2022

Pressure over sexual-misconduct allegations at Activision spurred Microsoft to reach out and engage in merger talks https://t.co/PhD4tN16SZ

— Bloomberg (@business) January 19, 2022

Since California sued Activision in July for workplace sexual harassment, its shares have fallen 27%—allowing Microsoft to scoop up the company at a deal.

Maintaining a culture that mistreats people is bad for business. Execs can’t afford to ignore this. https://t.co/JVCLNFH8sT

— Adrienne Lawrence, Esq. (@AdrienneLaw) January 18, 2022

Activision Blizzard sold for $70b today and the community is going to see $0 from this

Play-to-earn couldn't come sooner.

— GREG ISENBERG (@gregisenberg) January 18, 2022

WSJ effectively confirming that the sale to Microsoft is an attempt to rehabilitate Activision-Blizzard's image. https://t.co/hLs9Jzbwc6

— Cassandra, material gworl (@witch_cass) January 19, 2022

This is not a surprise, but he would be leaving with a huge bag of money and no consequences for his failures. https://t.co/ibpcZRN9Br

— Mike Futter (@Futterish) January 18, 2022

my 2 cents on Microsoft+Activision antitrust: Microsoft should be allowed to accrue so much power in PC gaming that they can finally force a Windows gaming tithe for Microsoft equivalent to the mobile app stores. AND THEN the logic of mobile app stores rake will finally crumble

— Eric Newcomer (@EricNewcomer) January 19, 2022

I’m so mad we didn’t shit on Kotick enough that he threatened to buy us https://t.co/qMDI8RtNTt

— Imran Khan (@imranzomg) January 19, 2022

When Sony finally responds, I expect their stock to pop back up https://t.co/clJ7j32Psy

— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) January 19, 2022

Bloomberg says Activision Blizzard received an acquisition offer from Microsoft late last year amid the scandals, and no-one else was interested in buying. https://t.co/IfFVVYylaF

— Martin SFP Bryant (@MartinSFP) January 19, 2022

Bobby Kotick interview: Why Activision Blizzard did the deal with Microsoft

- Conversations over many years with Nadella and Spencer: starting to acquire 45% premium over the stock price
- Last CoD perform, DFEH filing, WSJ articles affected the stock

> https://t.co/Iq3QI8W5Zh pic.twitter.com/f8iwP2rFtM

— Roberto Serrano' ??? (@geronimo_73_) January 19, 2022

A reminder of the approach that Microsoft is taking towards gaming, which is informing its M&A strategy

As the value of IP, content and talent grows, the Xbox business is placing its bets on ensuring it can increase the value of game pass and reach all players across all devices pic.twitter.com/pDrWKysgzZ

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 18, 2022

Just a casual reminder Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and that was a HUGE deal

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) January 18, 2022

"Microsoft to Buy Activision Blizzard for Nearly $70 Billion"

Just as a perspective:

Nepal GDP: 33 bn
Microsoft Nokia deal: 7 bn

Global steel industry: 290 bn
Global gaming industry: 200 bn

Crazy gaming industry!!https://t.co/09VctNjeOl

— Sanjay Golchha (@sanzay) January 19, 2022

I’m sorry, is this saying Bobby Kotick thought he could shift the narrative around Activision by…buying Kotaku? https://t.co/ejlbvWv4wM pic.twitter.com/Hmul7aacUm

— Kellen Browning (@Kellen_Browning) January 19, 2022

Published: Sony's shares are falling after Microsoft said it would buy Activision. Investors are worried that Microsoft is changing the industry's business model and Sony may find it hard to keep catching up due to size of money it can use. https://t.co/ealxqcz2de

— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) January 19, 2022

Dude literally wanted to create propaganda https://t.co/e2mHK6OcWX

— John Phipps: Sledgin’ Hammer (@GameDadJP) January 19, 2022

My thoughts on Microsoft-Activision. https://t.co/qs9MFYwLRB

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) January 19, 2022