Microsoft has agreed terms to acquire gaming company Activision Blizzard, developers of such iconic games as Warcraft, Candy Crush, and Call of Duty, in a deal valued at $68.7 billion (€60.5 billion).

If the transaction goes ahead, Microsoft would become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.

The proposed acquisition includes franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming.

Activision Blizzard has studios around the world, including Ireland, with nearly 10,000 employees.

Microsoft chairman and chief executive Satya Nadella 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.

In Association with

“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.”

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stated: “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.”

The gaming industry is worth more than $200 billion globally and growing fast, with the total number of video game releases in 2021 up 64% compared to 2020 and the total number of players expected to jump from three billion now to 4.5 billion by 2030.

The deal is expected to attract intense scrutiny from competition regualtors in the United States and in the European Union.