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Microsoft announced this week that it was acquiring Activision Blizzard, the maker of video games such as Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in a deal valued at nearly $70 billion.
On one level, the deal was unsurprising — Microsoft, the owner of Xbox, has been investing in games for years.
It was the framing of the agreement that caught the eye. Microsoft said the acquisition was a step toward gaining a foothold in the metaverse.
But what exactly is the metaverse? And why are some of the biggest companies in the world spending billions of dollars to get involved?
On today’s episode
Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times.
Background reading
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Does the metaverse even exist? Here’s what you need to know.
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Video games are not merely entertainment anymore. They have become weapons that today’s technology titans wield to try to shape our future.
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The deal for Activision Blizzard would be Microsoft’s biggest ever, and one that places a major bet that people will be spending more and more time in the digital world.
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Transcripts of each episode are available by the next workday. You can find them at the top of the page.
Kevin Roose contributed reporting.
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