Dive into the realm of content creation, where the key players are “perplexity,” “burstiness,” and “predictability.” Perplexity gauges textual intricacy, burstiness contrasts sentence variations, and predictability measures the likelihood of anticipating the next sentence. Unlike AI-generated sentences, which tend to be more uniform, human writing embraces burstiness, incorporating both lengthy and concise expressions. Crafting the forthcoming content, I seek a balance of perplexity and burstiness while minimizing predictability. The language must be English. Now, let’s reimagine the given text:
The announcement of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard in January 2022 sparked extensive discourse on the metaverse. Contrary to expectations, the focus leaned towards business applications rather than gaming. If public declarations and leaked documents are indicative, the Activision deal could hold more promise for the future of crypto than the metaverse.
The metaverse took center stage in Microsoft’s announcement of the Activision deal in January 2002. The company stated in the initial paragraph, “This acquisition will hasten the growth of Microsoft’s gaming business […] and lay the groundwork for the metaverse.” CEO Satya Nadella further emphasized gaming’s pivotal role in metaverse platform development, stating in an interview with the Financial Times the following month:
“We are, quite frankly, constructing metaverse applications, if I may label them as such. Experiences in business applications, productivity tools, meetings, and games — all unified on a shared platform.”
Nadella’s stress on work is noteworthy. Listing four elements and grouping “meetings and games” as one entity, Microsoft’s metaverse platform, Mesh, positions itself as a complement to the Teams business communications platform.
Mesh doesn’t exclude gaming. While assuring a transformation from a 2D meeting to a 3D immersive experience, it adds:
“Engage in built-in interactive games for team bonding within immersive spaces. Explore designated areas to roast marshmallows, throw beanbags, respond to fun icebreaker questions, and more.”
Surprisingly, the metaverse found no mention in Microsoft Gaming statements at the initiation and conclusion of the Oct. 13 deal. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, later in 2022, revealed his lukewarm enthusiasm for it. In an August Bloomberg interview, he questioned the very essence of the metaverse, stating, “Gamers have been in the Metaverse for 30 years.” His caution extended to Web3 metaverse, expressing reservations about play-to-earn. Later, he was quoted as deeming the metaverse “a poorly built videogame” and declared, “Building a metaverse that mimics a meeting room isn’t where I want to spend most of my time.”
Contrastingly, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick radiates enthusiasm for the metaverse. In 2021, he predicted, “We’re approaching a point where the visions in Snow Crash or Ready Player One will materialize as something very real.”
On the day of the Activision deal announcement, Kotick and Spencer, appearing together on CNBC, shared differing views. Kotick highlighted glimpses of the evolving metaverse, stating, “In the race for the metaverse, it became evident we needed diverse resources and talent.” Spencer made no mention of the metaverse.
Kotick remains with Activision until the year’s end. Spencer, possibly more bullish on cryptocurrency, faced leaked internal documents suggesting Microsoft’s plans to integrate crypto wallets into Xbox. Spencer downplayed the leak, acknowledging substantial changes but not refuting the information. If the crypto integration plans persist, they might extend across Microsoft’s new gaming acquisitions.
