It isn’t news that the $68.7 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard by Xbox has been lambasted, so Xbox launched a site detailing gamer benefits of the acquisition.
The kicker here, is Microsoft and Xbox created this website to basically combat the scrutiny the deal seems to continuously receive, mainly by Sony, by outlining what makes the deal important for gamers in general. Under the ‘Benefits for Players’ tab the Activision Blizzard deal outlines “More games on more devices including Xbox, PlayStation, phones and online” as a perk, even naming PlayStation by name. The “Benefits of Xbox + Activision Blizzard” from Microsoft, as listed below.
In a small video directly responding to Sony criticism, Microsoft Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella detailed his confidence on the success of the deal, mentioning “the number one player in this case, Sony” when referring to who is top dog in the gaming landscape, also mentioning how Sony has made acquisitions as well, possibly referencing the recent Bungie acquisition. His comments closed out with “if this is about competition, let us have competition” in regards to the issues Sony has with the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Doubling down on the sentiment Xbox wants to get games out to more players, Microsoft Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith said “Too much friction exists today between creators and gamers; app store policies and practices on mobile devices restrict what and how creators can offer games and what and how gamers can play them. Our large investment to acquire Activision Blizzard further strengthens our resolve to remove this friction on behalf of creators and gamers alike. We want to enable world-class content to reach every gamer more easily across every platform.”
More information surrounding the Activision Blizzard buyout will be surely available moving forward, but those who wish to check out the dedicated site can slide over to Microsoft for the full details.
