📰Microsoft's Activision Deal May Bring 'Metaverse' to Enterprise Tech

收购暴雪，进军元宇宙，微软技能加满 Microsoft's Activision Deal May Bring 'Metaverse' to Enterprise Tech Microsoft Corp.'s planned acquisition of videogame giant Activision Blizzard Inc. is poised to bring more of the sleek innovations of the online-gaming sector into the world of enterprise information technology, analysts say. Odd as it might seem, videogames have already had an outsize influence on corporate technology—in areas like online collaboration, artificial intelligence and virtual marketplaces, among others. By acquiring Activision—announced Tuesday, the deal is valued at $75 billion—Microsoft also is taking a big step into the metaverse, analysts say, referring to the emerging development of a three-dimensional virtual world where users produce, buy and sell goods and services online within a self-contained digital economy. "Microsoft has obviously been a leader in business-to-business technology in general, and also pioneers in virtual reality and augmented reality," said Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab. "Now, they instantly have access to one of the most elaborate and long-running metaverses of all time with World of Warcraft," he said, referring to the online role-playing game that helped popularize the purchase of virtual goods. For chief information officers and other corporate tech leaders, the metaverse offers an array of digital-first strategies in core business areas, such as remote job interviews in virtual settings, internal training simulations, 3-D demos, digital malls and events to promote products and services—all interacting with customers' videogame-like avatars.