Microsoft’s Growing Bet on Gaming
It may be tempting for an outsider to dismiss gaming as a hobby for Microsoft. Doing so would make it difficult to understand the company’s multi-decade bet on gaming. Reported within the same business segment as Windows and Surface, gaming is about twice as large of a business as Surface when looking at revenue. One can argue from a mindshare perspective that the difference is much larger. Prior to Microsoft correctly pulling the plug on its brick and mortar stores, proponents had argued that the stores should be kept open just to showcase Xbox.
Last week, Microsoft announced its intention to buy Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion all-cash deal.
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