According to reports, Bobby Kotick has revealed Electronic Arts could have bought Activision Blizzard before Microsoft.
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced its plans to purchase Activision Blizzard in an industry shattering $67.8 billion deal. While the deal won’t officially go through until 2023, it’s likely to be the biggest deal within the industry for years to come.

However, it could have worked out very differently if recent reports are to be believed. In an interview with VentureBeat, current Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick revealed that other suitors were considered as well as Microsoft.
“I think that even if we were to have consolidated within EA, that wouldn’t have given us what we’re going to need going forward,” said Kotick. “And so, you needed to have a big partner in order to be able to make it work.”

Other suitors were considered
Kotick didn’t reveal any further details between the discussions of EA and Activision, but whether it was a buyout or some kind of merge, it certainly would have been a huge deal.
Furthermore, as reported by GameSpot, during a recent investor call meeting, Activision was considering multiple partners to strike a deal with, and not just Microsoft or EA.

“As we thought about possible partners, all roads ultimately led to Microsoft,” claimed the controversial Kotick. “Microsoft has all the important technologies we need to deliver the next generation of games. And like Activision, Microsoft has a cultural passion for gaming that goes back to the 1980s.“
All roads led back to Microsoft
“Microsoft’s culture of inspiring people through caring and empathy is a powerful motivator, and one we embrace as we renew our resolve in the work, we’re now doing to set a new standard for a welcoming and inclusive workplace culture.”

How do you think a deal with EA and Activision would have worked out? Perhaps we would have seen a collaboration between Call of Duty and Battlefield.
Let’s discuss the “what ifs?” of Electronic Arts, Activision and Microsoft across our social media channels.
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