The CEO Of Microsoft Phil Spencer Reports Progress With Acquisition of Activision
Image Source : Xboxsquad
Phil Spencer, Microsoft gaming’s chief executive officer, recently spoke to Bloomberg about the $70 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard, Inc. and confessed that he is optimistic about the progress that has been made in the examination by the regulators.
“I feel good about the progress that we’ve been making, but I go into the process supportive of people who maybe aren’t as close to the gaming industry asking good, hard questions about ‘What is our intent? What does this mean? If you play it out over five years, is this constricting a market? Is it growing a market?’” Spender said during an interview with Emily Chang for Bloomberg’s Broadcast Studio 1.0.
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As he said, this is not only about video games and the metaverse that these acquisitions might create for the consumers, but it also raises economic queries. As was the case for the acquisition of Bethesda, this deal also needs examination and approval, for it could create competitive unfairness and potentially break the market.
Image Source : Microsoft
Moreover, for the past year, Activision Blizzard has been making headlines in the media due to a series of accusations regarding sexism and sexual harassment within the company. However, according to Spencer, Microsoft was aware of it and examined Activision’s plans to address the issues before agreeing to the deal in January.
“I believe they’re committed to that. When I look at the work that they’re doing now - there’s always more that can be done - but I believe from the studio leaders there that I know very well, some of them former Xbox members, that they’re committed to this journey.”
Adding to this, by going forward with this deal, Spencer is also committing himself to run a unionized company, as a second union was formed months before Microsoft is expected to close the deal. A first for the latter.
“I’ve never run an organization that has unions in it, but what I can say in working through this is we recognize workers’ needs to feel safe and heard and compensated fairly in order to do great work.”
Spencer seems confident that this deal has the power to change the gaming industry. He has even pledged to make Call of Duty available for Sony's console and to add more content in regions of the globe where the industry is less present.
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Source(s) : Bloomberg
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