Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard and gamers around the world are at a loss for words

With the planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, major franchises such as Warcraft, Call of Duty and Diablo would soon be owned by Microsoft. The deal surprised many gamers. He came out of nowhere and plays in dimensions that are huge even outside of gaming.

What happened?

How big is the topic? There is currently no major topic in the general gaming reddit. There, fans around the world are discussing the deal in two threads. Taken together, the two topics have over 12,000 upvotes and over 7,000 comments (as of 6:30 p.m.).

This makes the topic by far the biggest discussion among gamers on reddit. But the interest goes beyond that. The hashtags Microsoft, Activision, Xbox and Sony are in global trends on Twitter (via trends24). Even in Germany, “Activision Blizzard” was among the top trends for a short time.

What exactly does the deal mean and what the bosses of MeinMMO and guest Micha Graf from the GameStar You can hear what I think about this in the special podcast:

“The craziest moment in gaming”

What gamers are saying about the topic: Many comments merely express disbelief. The players sometimes can’t quite grasp what just happened, especially since it all came out of nowhere. NoNefariousness2144 sums up the situation: “This is the craziest moment in the gaming sphere since … Microsoft bought Bethesda.”

reddit user kuroinferuno goes further: “Un-fucking-believable. This could be the biggest takeover of all time, right? So even outside of the gaming sphere?” In fact, the magnitude of around $70 billion is at least among the top 15-top 30 biggest deals of all time (via Investopedia, Stand May 2021).

Opinions on the significance of the deal vary widely. Here on MeinMMO the readers discuss about:

• “I think Microsoft is most interested in the mobile market. With [Diablo] Immortal is something that Blizzard is already preparing.” – L4ch3s1s
• “Speechless… 70 billion…” – Walez
• “Wow. This has the potential to become ‘News of the Year’. Microsoft is becoming the new super giant in gaming.” – Leyaa
• “And I thought the only way out was if someone bought Blizzard. And then they buy Activision at the same time. Awesome.” – Of course

What is the mood? Many gamers are now considering how to proceed. Gamers are now hoping for the best, especially for Blizzard. MeinMMO reader Tw3nty7 writes: “I think it’s good, maybe Blizzard can finally move more independently of Activision.”

There are also thoughts about whether games like Overwatch or Call of Duty will come to the popular Game Pass. Hits like Fallout, DOOM and Wolfenstein came into the pass when you bought Bethesda. Fans are now speculating whether the new Overwatch 2 will even come straight to the release when it appears.

However, there are also concerns about the purchase. Call-of-duty players in particular fear that Microsoft might also want to secure exclusive rights with the deal. This would mean that future CoD parts would no longer be playable on PlayStation.

Gamer between joy and worry

The mood is currently mixed. The subject is so big that everyone has something to say and an opinion on it – even if it’s just disbelief at the immense sum. Activision Blizzard and Microsoft seem to have some value for just about every gamer.

Games like Call of Duty, Halo or especially the Warcraft series have been able to collect millions of fans worldwide over the years. Seeing how the journey continues seems to be moving the entire internet. However, PlayStation fans are particularly concerned about their favorite games.

Even when Bethesda was bought, Microsoft partially ruled out the Sony console. The official statement says that they want to “continue to support these communities in the future”, but the question still arises as to whether Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 will appear for the PS5.

However, it is particularly spicy that this deal comes right after a crisis year for Blizzard. In 2021, the game company was involved in an enormous sexism scandal, in the course of which even former Blizzard boss J. Allen Brack resigned.

The scandal even dragged on into the new year. Just before the report on the takeover by Microsoft, there was news about the status and involvement of Activision CEO Bobby Kotick:

Activision Blizzard fires 37 employees after sexism scandal