Recode Media with Peter Kafka

Gaming out Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal

01.20.2022 - By RecodePlay

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It’s the biggest acquisition in Microsoft’s history: $68.7 billion to buy the video game company, Activision Blizzard. 

First, Axios’ Chief Technology Correspondent, Ina Fried, tells us how Xbox fits into Microsoft’s overall business. She touches on how Activision Blizzard’s scandals impacted the deal, and whether Microsoft’s plan to buy the company that makes Overwatch will get past federal over watchers.

For the gaming side, Peter talks to Chris Grant, SVP of Polygon and The Verge. He explains just how big the video game industry is, and takes us through the history of Activision, from the 1982 Atari hit Pitfall! to Call of Duty.

Featuring: Chris Grant (@chrisgrant), SVP at Vox Media

Ina Fried (@inafried), Chief Technology Correspondent at Axios

Ina's newsletter, Axios Login: https://www.axios.com/signup/login

Read Ina’s coverage of the deal: https://www.axios.com/microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-big-tech-regulation-aaf95937-7df1-4d4a-99c1-267b9a9d22f8.html 

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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