Stock Spotlight: Microsoft makes a play as it eyes a vision of the future

Tech giant 'impossible to avoid'

Microsoft has made a bid for the crown of “highest quality business in the world” with its recent $69bn purchase of Activision Blizzard, as the world’s second most valuable company takes aim at the current and future potential of the cultural landscape.

While the deal, which makes Microsoft the world's third largest games company behind Tencent and Sony, was met with positive clamour by the markets, the Satya Nadella-headed firm will have to wrangle ongoing investigations into a toxic workplace at its new business, which saw more than 20 employees leave last year over sexual harassment and discrimination claims. Despite this, investors are confident the purchase will solidify Microsoft's place in the gaming market, while potentially opening the virtual door to the nebulous world of the metaverse. Impossible to avoid Stephen Yiu, ch...