Microsoft to buy Activision-Blizzard in monster $70 billion deal

In a huge surprise announcement, Microsoft has announced it will be acquiring Activision-Blizzard in a monster $70 billion deal -- all-cash, by the way.

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Once the deal is all over, it will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in revenue, where it will only be behind Sony and Tencent. Activision-Blizzard is home to some of the largest game franchises on the planet, including Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and so much more.

Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick -- drama surrounding him, and the company -- will remain as CEO where he and his team will "maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company's culture and accelerate business growth. Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming".

Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft said: "Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms. We're investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all".

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Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming added: "Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them. Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want".

Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard said: "For more than 30 years our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games. The combination of Activision Blizzard's world-class talent and extraordinary franchises with Microsoft's technology, distribution, access to talent, ambitious vision and shared commitment to gaming and inclusion will help ensure our continued success in an increasingly competitive industry".