Despite all of the negative news surroundingthe disastrous launch of Redfall, and the increasing amount of complexities regarding the company’s attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard,Microsoftis doing quite well at the moment. The company recently posted it quarterly earnings for the period that ended on March 31st, revealing a revenue of $52.9 billion and $18.3 billion in profits. It also announced that full-time employees won’t be getting their annual pay bumps this year.
According to a memo to staff obtained byInsider(thanksGameSpot), Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has told employees that the reason for the lack of a pay increases this year is down to the current economic challenges the company is facing at the moment. He also ensures them that the senior leadership team at Microsoft don’t “take this decision lightly, and considered it over several months”, explaining that he believe it’s “necessary to prepare the company for long term success”. On a completely unrelated note, Nadella’s annual salary currently sits at $55 million after receiving a ten percent increase between 2021 and 2022.
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Nadella goes on to clarify that some hourly roles within Microsoft will get pay increases, but all full-time employees will miss out, while this lack of salary increases will also apparently apply to the senior leadership team and Nadella himself. A later statement provided to both Insider and Gamespot by a Microsoft spokesperson also explained that the company will “continue to invest in our employees through promotions, bonus and stock”.
On another completely unrelated note, after Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard hit a snag last month due to theUK’s Competition and Markets Authority blocking the deal, the company is expecting a much easier time getting the EU to accept. It’s being reported that the EUwill approve the Microsoft/Activison Blizzard merger as early as next week, although it’s worth noting that Microsoft was also extremely confident of securing the CMA’s backing as well.
There are plenty of developers and publishers out there concerned about the potential acquisition, though EA doesn’t count itself among them. EA CEO Andrew Wilson recently stated thathe’s pretty “indifferent” about the entire thing, claiming that the company is Microsoft’s number one publisher on the Xbox platform and doesn’t see that changing any time soon. He also states that he would love for EA to eventually get itself into a position where it could also acquire large studios, and thinks EA has the potential to become “the largest standalone independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment” in the world. It’s up to you whether you find that idea appealing or not.
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