Sony’s Worth Drops by $20 Billion
News recently came out that Microsoft, one of the leading technology companies globally, had struck a deal to fully acquire video game publisher Activision Blizzard by 2023. This acquisition, amounting to $68.7 billion in cash upfront, is one of the biggest deals in the history of both Microsoft and the gaming industry. However, this development has raised concerns among fans of Activision Blizzard’s games, particularly those who own Sony gaming consoles. These worries have had an impact on Sony’s market value.
Yesterday, Sony Group Corp. saw a 13% drop in its market value, which translates to a loss of $20 billion USD. While Microsoft has reassured that they do not plan to restrict Activision Blizzard games from being released on Sony consoles, analysts have pointed out that this commitment only guarantees releases for games currently in development that have already promised to be available on Sony platforms. Once these games are launched, Microsoft will no longer be obligated to continue these releases, potentially depriving Sony consoles of popular titles like “Call of Duty,” which are key revenue generators.
LATEST: Microsoft’s Activision deal wipes $20 billion off Sony’s market value in a day https://t.co/nr45gocXZb
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) January 19, 2022
Microsoft has been steadily acquiring major Western game publishers for several years, with one of their recent purchases being ZeniMax (and by extension, Bethesda) in 2021 for $7.5 billion. With the access to high-profile game releases that such acquisitions provide, it is understandable that Sony’s valuation would be negatively affected in the eyes of investors.
