The key reasons behind Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard seem clear: it is a behemoth corporation – crème de la crème of the gaming world – with an impressive portfolio of iconic franchises, and the tech giant is guaranteed to derive quite a financial benefit from having control over such an asset. However, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the motivation for buying the gaming publisher lies partially in the idea of building the next version of the Internet using the metaverse.
According to Mr. Nadella, Microsoft chair of the board and CEO, the planned purchase of Activision Blizzard should help Microsoft strengthen the position of its gaming business across various platforms and offer building material for developing the metaverse. Satya Nadella believes gaming to be the fastest-growing and most thrilling entertainment medium today that will be a driving force behind the construction of metaverse platforms.
In his recent interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Nadella dwells on the theory about online video games having substantially paved the way for metaverses. He argues that the creation of a practical metaverse is not different from developing a game and that many video games already have some desirable functions people associate with metaverses: both games and virtual 3D worlds deal with putting people, things, and places into a physics engine and making them all interact with one another. Nadella thinks that through metaverses, gamers will be able to experience the joy of 'embodied presence' where you not only play the game but become part of it.
Do you think Microsoft has sufficient resources to make this ambitious vision a reality? Is it clear to you how Activision Blizzard fits into this plan? Speak up in the comments and share this post with others!
