Microsoft’s (MSFT) deal for Activision (ATVI), will prove to be one in a string of such deals over the next few years whereby video game platform companies (Microsoft/Xbox, Google/Stadia, Amazon/Twitch), acquire video game content companies. These deals are similar to the wave of consolidation that took place in the 1980’s and 1990’s when distribution companies such as Viacom and Comcast acquired content companies such as MTV and NBC (respectively). The ATVI deal will not be MSFT’s first such content deal as Microsoft acquired Bethesda Softworks in March 2021. Microsoft’s proposed acquisition for Activision values ATVI at $68.7 Billion. We last wrote about ATVI HERE as part of our ESG series.
