Microsoft has finally wrapped up the legal battles over its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a process that had begun all the way back in January 2022. According to a new report by Reuters, the lawsuit faced by Microsoft by Activision Blizzard shareholders has now come to an end, with Microsoft agreeing to a settlement valued at $250 million.
Led by Sweden’s Sjunde-AP-Fonden fund, the shareholder lawsuit had accused the now-former executives of Activision Blizzard, including the at-the-time CEO Bobby Kotick, of having breached fiduciary duties by agreeing to the $95-per-share price, which made the deal valued at $75.4 billion. They had alleged that Kotick rushed through the merger in an attempt to hang on to his role as CEO, along with $400 million in benefits.
It is worth noting that the lawsuit has come to an end due to a settlement, with both Microsoft and Kotick denying the allegations that had been levied against them. The reason for this settlement was stated as being to “avoid the distraction of litigation”. Sjunde, on the other hand, agreed to the settlement by noting that the $250 million payment was “fair”. The settlement will be considered complete once it is approved by the Delaware Court of Chancery’s chief judge, Kathaleen McCormick.
40 percent of the payout will be funded by Microsoft, with the rest being the responsibility of the liability insurance of the various executives who were part of the lawsuit. In its entirety, the settlement payout is an additional 30 cents for each Activision Blizzard share.
The acquisition had been considered officially complete back in October 2023, with Microsoft welcoming Activision Blizzard into the XBOX family. The at-the-time CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, said in a statement that the acquisition was part of a deliberate strategy, and that the companies will work together to “bring the joy and community of gaming to more people.”
“Together, we’ll create new worlds and stories, bring your favorite games to more places so more players can join in, and we’ll engage with and delight players in new, innovative ways in the places they love to play, including mobile, cloud streaming, and more,” he said.
The entire acquisition process was placed under a microscope by several regulatory bodies from around the world to ensure that Microsoft was complying with antitrust laws. A key point of contention at the time was the worry that Microsoft would make the Call of Duty franchise exclusive to its own platforms, giving it an unfair advantage in the marketplace when compared to Sony and Nintendo.
Consumers saw the first real fruits of this acquisition when Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was released on Game Pass on day one. This was followed up by last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Unfortunately, the loss in revenue this represented led to Microsoft raising the price of its subscription service. After much backlash, the company announced last month that it would be bringing the price of Game Pass down, with the main trade-off being that Call of Duty games will stop arriving on the subscription service on day one of their release.
