Microsoft Gaming

Microsoft Gaming
	Microsoft Gaming's headquarters on West Campus
Company type	Division
Industry	Video games
Founded	January 18, 2022
Founder	Phil Spencer
Headquarters	One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington, US
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Phil Spencer (CEO); Dave McCarthy (COO); Tim Stuart (CFO); Jerret West (Corporate VP & CMO);
Products	See § Products
Brands	Xbox
Services	Game Pass; Xbox Cloud Gaming; Xbox network; Battle.net; Microsoft Store;
Number of employees	20,100 (2024)
Parent	Microsoft
Subsidiaries	Xbox Game Studios; ZeniMax Media; Activision Blizzard;
Website	www.xbox.com/en-US/

Microsoft Gaming is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment division of Microsoft based in Redmond, Washington established in 2022. It produces the Xbox video game consoles and services, in addition to overseeing production and sales, and is led by CEO Phil Spencer, who oversaw Xbox since 2014. Its five development and publishing labels consist of: Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks (publisher of ZeniMax Media), Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King (aforementioned are publishers of Activision Blizzard).^[1]

Prior to 2022, Microsoft had several different video game-related product lines, including Xbox hardware, Xbox operations, and game development studios. Microsoft Gaming was created with the announcement of Microsoft's plans to acquire Activision Blizzard to unify all of Microsoft's gaming groups within a single division. With the completion of the Activision Blizzard acquisition in 2023, Microsoft became one of the largest gaming companies, the third-by revenue and the largest by employment.^[2]^[3]

The division owns Intellectual property for some of the most popular, best-selling, and highest-grossing media franchises of all time, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Warcraft, Halo, Minecraft, and The Elder Scrolls.^[4]

^ Kerr, Chris (October 13, 2023). "Activision Blizzard joins Xbox Game Studios following Microsoft merger". Game Developer. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Vlessing, Etan (October 24, 2023). "Xbox Sales Drop But Microsoft's Gaming Division Grows in Revenue". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Taylor, Mollie (January 18, 2022). "Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
^ Good, Owen S. (January 18, 2022). "Here's everything Microsoft owns after the Activision Blizzard deal". Polygon. Retrieved November 30, 2023.

[1] Kerr, Chris (October 13, 2023). "Activision Blizzard joins Xbox Game Studios following Microsoft merger". Game Developer. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[:0-2] Vlessing, Etan (October 24, 2023). "Xbox Sales Drop But Microsoft's Gaming Division Grows in Revenue". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[:1-3] Taylor, Mollie (January 18, 2022). "Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 14, 2023.

[Good-4] Good, Owen S. (January 18, 2022). "Here's everything Microsoft owns after the Activision Blizzard deal". Polygon. Retrieved November 30, 2023.

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