Microsoft, the metaverse, and a potential culture clash

When Microsoft paid almost $69 billion USD to acquire video game giant Activision Blizzard, many observers hailed it as a sign that Microsoft have big plans for the metaverse. But the newly expanded company might have a different puzzle to solve first.

In an article for The Guardian, L’Atelier BNP Paribas CEO John Egan acknowledged the exciting possibilities of playing games like Call of Duty or Crash Bandicoot in an immersive environment. He also pointed out that Activision Blizzard’s well-documented history of workplace toxicity might pose challenges to the merger: “How are Microsoft going to assimilate an organisation with a culture that is beset by issues to do with misogyny, diversity and harassment over the last number of years which they have failed utterly to remedy? How are Microsoft going to resolve that?”

These questions remain to be answered. And they’re not the only challenges that Microsoft must address in the days to come. Read the full article to learn more.