Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently participated in the virtual Annual Shareholders Meeting, answering questions on a variety of topics that involve the corporation’s activities. Usually, on these occasions, gaming is largely ignored, being a relatively minor portion of Microsoft’s revenues.
However, this time around, Nadella was actually asked about the early ROI (return on investment) on the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and about progress made in 2024 on the overarching gaming strategy outlined by Microsoft. Nadella was very positive in his reply, and he also touched upon some of the brand’s changes related to multiplatform releases.
I’m feeling very, very good about where we are in gaming. In fact, right now, this is like the peak season for gaming, obviously with Black Ops and the new Call of Duty, and it’s just been fantastic to see the launch and the marketing around it, the buzz around it and the love for gaming.
If I think about it, right, we chose the secular growth category in entertainment, which we think is gaming, and said, let’s double down on it, let’s – and it’s been a passion for Microsoft ever since.
In fact, I think Flight Simulator launched before Windows or Office even, and so it’s like one of the longest franchises in this company. And so we said, let’s take that joy of gaming everywhere. And that’s why even these ads with Xbox now, where we are redefining what it means to be an Xbox fan, it’s about being able to enjoy Xbox on all your devices.
So our strategy with Activision content now is in full force. We feel fantastic about the progress we’ve made. And more importantly, I think, long term, as a company, we can bring the best of AI innovation, cloud innovation, console innovation, PC innovation to build the best games that can be enjoyed by gamers everywhere.
At last week’s The Game Awards 2024, Xbox fans learned that another of the former exclusives, The Outer Worlds 2, would launch day and date on PlayStation 5, too, after being announced only for PC and Xbox Series S|X back in 2021. It’s another hint that the rumors about Microsoft abandoning exclusives for good might be true. While fans may riot at the idea, it certainly makes financial sense, at least on paper.
