Microsoft's new financial results look promising for the future of gaming within the company. Last year, the Redmond firm concluded one of the most complex acquisitions in the history of the industry. After long months of a legal battle with the various anti-competitive authorities around the world, Microsoft finally got the green light for the acquisition of Activision Blizzard last October. The renowned studio officially joined the Microsoft banner a short while ago and is therefore interfering for the first time in the group's financial results. Unsurprisingly, this transaction estimated at $75.4 billion is already starting to bear fruit for the firm.
However, this impact is such that gaming has already become the third source of revenue for the company. Despite Windows predominating in the collective consciousness when it comes to Microsoft, the operating system now brings in less than video games. The group has just concluded its second quarter of the fiscal year with $7.1 billion in revenue from the gaming division, compared to $5.26 billion thanks to Windows. In addition, Activision Blizzard contributed nearly $2 billion of the $7.1 billion raised. Unfortunately, these notable results were not enough to guarantee the future of many employees.
A process for ever more profits
Despite the successful integration of Activision Blizzard into Microsoft teams, the company announced the implementation of 1,900 layoff procedures within its video game teams. This decision could be explained in particular by the real cost of the acquisition. Among the financial results, the company reveals that this transaction accompanied by numerous additional costs still generated a net loss of 440 million dollars during the last quarter. Despite the strengthening of the gaming division, Microsoft has therefore chosen to limit its teams to limit expenses.
Barely freed from the yoke of Bobby Kotick and Mike Ybarra, Activision Blizzard employees had to face a new tidal wave. The studio is far from being unscathed by the aftermath of this transaction, and only time will tell whether Microsoft's decisions will truly revive the machine. The Xbox division is also benefiting from a 61% increase in the sale of services and content, suggesting a renewed interest in the Redmond firm's ecosystem. Unfortunately, these positive financial results remain tarnished by the conditions imposed on players in the video game industry, whose future seems increasingly unclear. In this capitalist logic on the part of the studios, what will remain of the video game without artists or developers?
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