Microsoft has officially completed its purchase of Activision Blizzard after a long legal fight that started in January 2022. Reuters reports that a lawsuit brought by Activision Blizzard shareholders has been resolved with Microsoft agreeing to a $250 million settlement.
A lawsuit brought by shareholders, led by Sweden’s Sjunde-AP-Fonden fund, claimed that former Activision Blizzard executives – including then-CEO Bobby Kotick – failed to act in the best interests of the company. The claim centered on the $75.4 billion merger deal, with shareholders arguing the $95-per-share price was too low. They alleged Kotick pushed for a quick merger to protect his job and a $400 million benefits package.
The lawsuit has been resolved with a settlement, and both Microsoft and Kotick have denied the accusations made against them. Both parties stated the settlement was reached to avoid the time and expense of a prolonged legal battle. Sjunde agreed with the $250 million settlement amount, calling it reasonable. The agreement will be finalized once Chief Judge Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery approves it.
Microsoft will cover 40% of the settlement, while the remaining amount will be paid using insurance policies held by the executives involved in the lawsuit. The total settlement will result in a payment of 30 cents for every share of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft officially completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023, adding the popular gaming company to the Xbox family. Phil Spencer, then CEO of Microsoft Gaming, stated the purchase was a planned move designed to expand the reach of gaming and connect more people through shared experiences.
We’re going to build exciting new games and stories, make your existing favorites available on more platforms so everyone can play, and find fresh, creative ways to connect with players wherever they enjoy gaming – whether that’s on their phones, through cloud streaming, or other platforms.
As a huge gamer, I was following the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard really closely, and it felt like every regulator in the world was scrutinizing it! The biggest worry, at least from what I could tell, was whether Microsoft would pull Call of Duty and make it only playable on Xbox and PC. Everyone was concerned that would give Microsoft an unfair edge over PlayStation and Nintendo, and honestly, it made a lot of sense why!
As a Game Pass subscriber, I was so excited when Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched right on the service – it felt like we were really seeing the benefits of the acquisition! Last year’s Black Ops 7 was great too. But, it turned out adding those games meant Microsoft had to raise the price of Game Pass, and a lot of us weren’t happy. Thankfully, they recently announced they’re lowering the price again, but the catch is that future Call of Duty games won’t be available on Game Pass on day one anymore. It’s a bit of a trade-off, but hopefully it’ll make the service more accessible again.
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2026-05-27 15:11