FTC looking into Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard buyout: The gaming acquisition frenzy could be cooled off by regulators on alert for anticompetitive advantages

Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard, publisher of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft: The $68.7 billion deal will create a gaming behemoth but could face regulatory roadblocks.

Xbox makes nearly $70 billion bet on Activision Blizzard: Microsoft moves in just as the maker of Candy Crush and Overwatch saw slumping sales due to misconduct allegations.

Activision Blizzard faces calls from fans, shareholders, and industry figures for its CEO to resign: Widespread backlash against the gaming company suggests that consumers are paying more attention to corporate social responsibility and ethics.

Activision also received criticism for its treatment of quality assurance (QA) workers, who often work long hours for lesser pay than other development roles. Activision converted over 1,000 QA employees to full-time workers last month, but still faces a possible union effort from QA workers at subsidiary Raven Software.

Microsoft has been investing heavily in Game Pass, acquiring major video game companies such as Activision Blizzard and Bethesda for a combined $76 billion in order to bring their popular titles to the service. Sony wasn’t happy about that Activision Blizzard deal, raising antitrust concerns.

The value of the gaming industry has soared in recent years, and the sector has seen a number of major acquisitions, including Microsoft’s purchase of PlayFronts presenter Activision Blizzard for $70 billion. It’s no wonder the event was popular enough that the IAB suggested next year’s conference could run multiple days.

The bigger picture: Although the overall share of union membership in the US has fallen in the past several decades, the labor movement is gaining steam in the tech industry with workers at companies like Apple, Amazon, and Tesla seeking membership, and workers at Google, Raven Software, and Activision Blizzard unionizing.

Workers at Raven Software, a division of Activision Blizzard, formed a union last month. Google employees formed a union a year ago but did not certify it with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Success breeds success. Many of the unionization campaigns have been inspired by two successful efforts at Starbucks-owned stores.

Microsoft announced Tuesday it was acquiring Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion. And last week, Take-Two Interactive committed to buy Zynga for $13 billion. The Biden Administration has made antitrust reform a priority, with mergers and acquisitions high on the list of regulatory targets. What’s the catch?

Workers at Google, Raven Software, and Activision Blizzard are unionizing. Apple retail workers are also trying to form a union, a first for the world’s most valuable company. One plan of action: A worker’s union will negotiate a $30/hr minimum wage if given the right to collectively bargain with Apple.

Microsoft’s historic $67.8 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Amazon’s $8.45 billion deal with MGM, WarnerMedia’s merger with Discovery, and more could all be on the chopping block. Senators backing the bill like Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) highlighted M&A’s effect on wages and unemployment, and cited support for the bill by numerous advocacy groups.

Big-budget gaming is starting to bleed into the mobile market with titles like Genshin Impact, and with mobile ports of popular games such as Epic Games’ Fortnite and Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Warzone. Additionally, games like Among Us have proved to be lucrative, viral hits.

In the same way that Microsoft stressed that Activision-Blizzard’s games will continue to be available across platforms, Sony has indicated that Bungie’s games, like Destiny and Halo, will get continued support on their respective platforms.

This year, we expect more shuffling among ad tech players, including Microsoft, which has also made waves by announcing its acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard mere weeks after buying Xandr from AT&T.

Earlier this year, Activision Blizzard signed an exclusive streaming rights deal with YouTube reportedly worth more than $160 million, according to trade publication The Esports Observer. Influencer Collaborations: It’s common for marketers to work with popular gaming influencers to establish their brand within the space.

He has impacted the evaluation of multi-million-dollar, decades-old, energy-efficiency projects for Southern California Edison, developed groundbreaking social network ad-targeting for Activision and introduced new reporting, measurement and attribution techniques to advertising.