Dubious Quality

First off, that's a lot of damn money for a company that basically puts out one game a year (and remasters a few old ones). 

Second, maybe this will dilute the douchbro factor at Activision Blizzard. It can't hurt. 

Third, even though Microsoft wildly overpaid, what do they care? They're drowning in money, and it's a smart acquisition. 

Why? Because console hardware is going to become less and less relevant over time. Streaming gaming is the future, and in that future, hardware won't exist. All that matters is content. Microsoft has done a terrific job of being a content aggregator via Game Pass, but locking down some of that content as exclusive is increasingly important now.

It's bad for the consumer, of course, but isn't everything? That's what it feels like, anyway.

I doubt Microsoft is done throwing money at people, either. Just pay a king's ransom and buy Take-Two while you're at it.