Activision Employees Are Mostly Optimistic About Acquisition (1)

Activision Blizzard Inc. employees have had a range of differing and sometimes conflicting emotional responses to news this week that their company will be purchased by Microsoft Corp. for $69 billion.

There has been trepidation about potential layoffs; optimism about Microsoft’s recent history of buying game companies and then leaving them alone; determination to fight for better wages and more worker protections.

But above all, more than a dozen employees across Activision Blizzard’s divisions say they’re relieved that something -- anything -- has actually happened that could fundamentally change the company’s course. Many people had been worried that the ...