logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2023
28m 44s

Big Stories of 2023: The Microsoft-Activ...

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Nearly two years after Microsoft announced its intention to acquire video game company Activision Blizzard, it sealed the deal. But it wasn't a sure thing. We look back on how government officials around the world nearly prevented the merger and why. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Jun 12
The Internet Found a Way to Monetize Reality Itself. It's Going Exactly as You'd Expect - Week in Tech
How much would it take for you to tattoo a memecoin's name on your forehead? Taylor Lorenz (User Mag) tells us about the platform where crypto speculators pay strangers to do almost anything in service of pumping their coin's value: Pump.fun Go. But Taylor argues this is bigger t ... Show More
48m 55s
Jun 10
The Secret Stanford Off-Campus Class for Tech’s Next Titans - The Story
Did your college have a secret society? Well, Stanford has a secret off-campus class training the next generation of Silicon Valley billionaires. And it's literally called "How to Rule the World." Theo Baker arrived at Stanford as an aspiring coder with dreams of building the fut ... Show More
41m 31s
Jun 8
Shell Game: Me and My Scammer
Evan turns his AI-powered voice agent loose on the people who are always at the forefront of technological adoption: the fraudsters and the rip-off artists. How will the scammers and spammers react when they face Evan’s voice agent in a battle of wits? And what happens when they ... Show More
37m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2022
Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion
Microsoft announced a blockbuster video game deal, planning to acquire Call of Duty studio Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 
5m 28s
Oct 2023
How Microsoft bagged Activision Blizzard
<p>In the 1990s, Microsoft was seen as a tech industry bully. Once viewed as combative and ruthless in the eyes of regulators, the company underwent an image makeover in the decades since. Now, the FT’s Richard Waters explains how Microsoft’s transformation pushed their $75bn acq ... Show More
19m 3s
Nov 2022
How Will Gamers and Investors Respond to Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard?
In January 2022, Microsoft announced its acquisition of the video game company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The deal would make Microsoft the world’s third largest video game company, but it also exposes the company to several risks. First, the all-cash deal would requi ... Show More
18m 55s
Jan 2022
Xbox Buys Activision Blizzard - Holy S&*%
Xbox continues its spending spree, buying Activision-Blizzard for almost $70 billion. We spent almost the entire podcast discussing it, from future game exclusivity to Microsoft's role in cleaning up Activision Blizzard's toxic workplace culture to whether or not so much consolid ... Show More
1h 20m
Jan 2022
NEWS - Xbox Buys Activision For $70 BILLION
tail spinning
13m 19s