Microsoft to pay $69B for maker of games

Microsoft is paying $68.7 billion for Activision Blizzard, the maker of “Candy Crush” and “Call of Duty,” as it seeks an edge in the fiercely competitive businesses of mobile gaming and virtual-reality technology.

The all-cash deal will turn Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming system, into one of the world’s largest video game companies. It will also help it compete with tech rivals such as Meta, formerly Facebook, in creating immersive virtual worlds for both work and play.

If the deal survives scrutiny from U.S. and European regulators in the coming months, it also could be one of the biggest tech acquisitions in history.

Dell bought data-storage company EMC in 2016 for around $60 billion.

Activision has been buffeted for months by allegations of misconduct and unequal pay.

That was addressed Tuesday by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a conference call with investors.

“The culture of our organization is my No. 1 priority,” Nadella said, adding that “it’s critical for Activision Blizzard to drive forward on its” commitments to improve its workplace culture.

Activision disclosed last year it was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission over complaints of workplace discrimination against women and in September settled claims brought by U.S. workforce discrimination regulators.

Last year, Microsoft spent $7.5 billion to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks, which is behind popular video games “The Elder Scrolls,” “Doom” and “Fallout.”