How Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal is hurting Sony already

Microsoft’s nearly $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard was a massive shock to both gamers and the stock market since the January 18 deal. Sony’s stock has already taken a massive dip, losing $20 billion market value in one day.

On January 19, Sony Group Corp. shares dropped 13% after it was announced competitor Microsoft were acquiring gaming giant Activision Blizzard. The $20 billion drop for Sony was the company’s biggest fall in value since 2008, which stemmed from a recall of 100,000 computer batteries.

Sony stock plummets after Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal

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Activision Blizzard now join the legion of other Microsoft acquisitions over the past few years, like ZeniMax Media, Obsidian Entertainment, and Mojang. In Microsoft’s announcement of the deal, they noted there are now over 25 million subscribers to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. Further, they revealed intentions to “offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can” on the services. As explained by Bloomberg, Sony rely on roughly 30% of their revenue from network services and gaming, with a reliance on solid exclusive titles and hardware sales.

Economic strategist Amir Anvarzadeh told Bloomberg, “with Call of Duty now most likely to be added exclusively to the Game Pass roster, the headwinds for Sony are only going to get tougher.” Since being acquired by Microsoft, Activision Blizzard stock has jumped roughly $20 a share as confidence has risen that the company can get back on its feet after an ugly 2021.