Big tech fully understands the importance of content in the next evolution of the Internet. Having consoles and hardware is of little value without quality content. Microsoft publicly announced its plans to buy video game giant Activision Blizzard in a 100% cash deal worth over US$68 billion. A historic deal that reveals Microsoft’s priorities right now. “We need support for many platforms in the metaverse,” said Satya Nadella, the new CEO of Microsoft. What does this mean?
There is no reason to think that the authorities will prevent the transaction. After all, Microsoft doesn’t have a monopoly on video games. Of course, with this acquisition, the company is ranked number three in the sector by revenue, after Tencent and Sony. The metaverse is mentioned. But it is clear that Microsoft’s intention, at first, is to feed content from its Game Pass subscription platform. Let’s think of a Netflix but for video games. Which means that the user will be able to enjoy video games from the phone and tablet thanks to the cloud. That is, we can do without expensive consoles and sophisticated specialized equipment. Obviously, Microsoft is looking for a Netflix model.
Everything seems to indicate that Satya Nadella is following the example of Disney’s Bob Iger with his latest acquisition. Bob Iger brought Disney back to life with big acquisitions that brought a lot of new and highly franchiseable content to the brand. I am referring, of course, to the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, LucasFilms, National Geographic and 21th Century Fox. What does Microsoft gain from this acquisition? Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush, among others. These are well-known games with a huge fan base. In other words, Microsoft is getting community. Content and subscribers. These names will now add to Microsoft’s already quite extensive portfolio. The thing is serious. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised by reactions from the competition. You don’t have to be a genius to know that at the moment many studios are “in conversions” and surely there are already offers on the table.
Now, let’s talk about the metaverse. The metaverse needs two things: Content and community. Then the construction begins. And, as the build progresses, new content is created and the community expands. Obviously it is a process. And all in due time. Meta (Facebook), Roblox and Microsoft are taking a stand. It is very clear that Big Tech will have a very important role in the construction of the metaverse. The metaverse, in all likelihood, will be a mixed universe. We will have centralized actors, decentralized actors and hybrid actors.
On social media, we will surely continue to hear advocates of radical decentralization complain about anything that is not 100% decentralized. However, users continue to adopt solutions in a mixed way. People, in practice, tend to be more moderate and pragmatic than advertised. Social networks unleash radicalism. But, in many cases, it is a rhetorical radicalism. We have to recognize that the Big Tech have a lot of resources to be able to achieve the objectives that they set for themselves. The metaverse is coming. And the Big Tech will play a prominent role.
We must remember that crypto is also a niche. If we only listen to what is said within the niche, with great difficulty, we will be able to see the whole picture. If we limit ourselves to reading only Twitter, we could come to think that there is a revolution out there made up of millions of highly committed militants. The enemies are perfectly marked: Governments, central banks, international banks and multinational corporations. The goal is total decentralization. Which is actually another way of saying “by the people and for the people” with the help of technology.
According to this vision, we have a protagonist and his antagonist. In other words, there is a conflict. A war of the people against the powerful. Which could mean that the success of one is the defeat of the other. That is what is hinted at in the speech. But I’m afraid the reality is very different. Bitcoin and Big Tech do not get along very well at the narrative level. But the market tends to see them as members of the same family. In fact, Big Tech goes up. And Bitcoin goes up. Big Tech low. And Bitcoin goes down. The market, whether we like it or not, puts Bitcoin, Ethereum, NFTs and Big Tech in the same bag. Apparently, everything belongs to the great family of technological innovation.
Governments, banks and big capitals have expressed their interest in Bitcoin. The same investor who invests in Tech usually ends up investing in both Bitcoin and Crypto. The investor who is collecting NFTs also plays video games of all kinds. The common person does not separate the product coming from a decentralized system from another coming from a centralized system. Everything is mixed. Because the user, after all, uses what he pleases.
What is the metaverse? A universe full of opportunities. The metaverse, fintech, NFTs, and Big Tech all correlate positively with Bitcoin. Let’s go back to the past and remember for a moment the adoption of Bitcoin by PayPal. How did the Puritans in the country react? Bla bla bla. Private key, custody, Satoshi and the seven dwarfs. Bla bla bla. How did the market react? How did the price react? With gigantic optimism.
In this space, there is a very large gap between what is said and what is done. My recommendation is to go to the facts and be very skeptical of the rhetoric. Right now, we have a bitcoin dragged down by macroeconomic reality. The market expresses its concern in the face of uncertainty. Ultimately, the US Federal Reserve is the biggest player in all of this. They set the tone and investors follow. Here’s the problem. We still do not know for sure what is going to happen with monetary policy. We know there will be cuts. But all the details are still unknown.
Now, sooner or later, the market will find the clarity it seeks. The waters will return to their course. And investors will return to invest in innovation. Bitcoin is greatly favored with the digitization process. Words more, words less, the fate of Bitcoin is closely linked to the evolution of the Internet. Despite the various opinions, Big Tech and Bitcoin walk hand in hand in this adventure.
This is an opinion piece and Cointelegraph does not necessarily endorse what is expressed here by the author.
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