Could Microsoft Buy Activision-Blizzard? - Forbes So, this HUGE sale could be going down pretty soon. I don't know what this means for gaming in general, but if Microsoft buys them then my Xbox library sure will be happy. It will probably be bad for the industry if Microsoft buys them. Monopolies are generally bad for the consumer, so I think Time Warner would be a better fit.
It's not quite what you think. Activision-Blizzard was previously "owned" by Vivendi, a french multi-media conglomerate. Vivendi is looking to sell its majority stake but Activision-Blizzard still owns the second largest stake in the company. This means Activision-Blizzard could buy up the shares themselves or Vivendi could sell the shares to multiple investors. It was announced just recently that Microsoft was selling its own shares of MSNBC and pulling out of its partnership with NBC Universal. I don't know if this means they are trying to raise funds to possibly make the deal with Vivendi or they're trying to regroup their investments to protect their own products, Microsoft Surface, the next Xbox, Windows 8, building "Windows" branded outlets, etc.