Microsoft stunned the world with its $98.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Sony, seen as a rival, tumbled 9.8% in the opening minutes of Japanese shares, its biggest one-day drop since the outbreak of the virus in 2020.
Related Reading:Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard for NT$1,895.4 billion, the largest acquisition in gaming history
Analysts estimate that Sony’s share price decline is a reaction to excessive investor concern. For example, when Activision Blizzard is brought under Microsoft’s banner, the “Call of Duty” series may be forced to become an exclusive series.
Taking ZeniMax, which Microsoft started in 2020 as an example, its Bethesda unpublished new work “The Elder Scrolls VI” (Elder Scrolls VI) originally adopted a flexible response to exclusivity; until November 2021, it was “almost confirmed” by Microsoft boss Phil Spencer. Exclusive to Xbox consoles and PCs.
It is worth mentioning that in this wave of acquisition news, major game developers and publishers have gained a lot after the opening of US and Japanese stocks, including EA, Take-Two Interactive, Konami, and even Nintendo. While the developer market was bullish, shares of buyer Microsoft also edged down 2.4 percent.
Among them, SQEX and Capcom are regarded as one of Sony’s acquisition targets, which has increased investor confidence, and their stock prices have both soared by more than 5%.
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