Microsofts Prospect in Gaming Industry: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

Abstract

In January 2022, Microsoft stunned the public by announcing that it would acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, a move that would radically change the gaming market. Through SWOT analysis, this paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of Microsoft and Blizzard, as well as the opportunities and threats brought by the acquisition. The study found that while Microsoft has mastered core technologies in cloud computing, it is in a weak position to compete for the top spot in the global gaming market, with xbox selling far fewer games and exclusives than its rivals SONY and Nintendo. Activision Blizzard is a leading game manufacturer with a mature game production studio and a large player community, which maintains efficient and high-quality game output all year round. The combination of Activision Blizzard and Microsoft will bring more game choices to Xbox players. This acquisition is conducive to the integration of the metacomverse industry chain and brings Microsoft a huge profit opportunity, but at the same time it faces the liquidity risk caused by the failure to complete the acquisition.