Microsoft and the metaverse

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?

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