This Week in Payments: Microsoft’s $75B Purchase is a Bargain, Amazon Aims to Bring Innovation to Clothing Stores, and the Ford-Stripe Plan is the Future of Payments

What were the three biggest news stories of the week? “Microsoft and Activision, Microsoft and Activision, and Microsoft and Activision.”

So said Seth Gerson, CEO of Survios, who joined PYMNTS’ Karen Webster to discuss the happenings for This Week in Payments.

They talked about other things as well, though, including Amazon’s plan to open physical clothing stores paired with innovative technology, and the Ford and Stripe deal that will turn cars into mobile wallets.

Microsoft Buys an Amazing Library

First on the agenda, though, was the Tuesday (Jan. 18) announcement that Microsoft had agreed to purchase Activision Blizzard for $75 billion.

Read more: Microsoft to Buy Activision Blizzard For $75B, CEO Expected to Step Down

The primary reason Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard is because it needs content for its gaming service, Game Pass. Any all-you-can-eat service like this needs to drive titles, which get people in the door to sign up, and filler titles, which give subscribers something to play, watch or do.

“This gave them an amazing library,” Gerson said, pointing to such titles as “World of Warcraft,” “Crash,” “Diablo,” “Candy Crush” and “Call of Duty.” He added that “Call of Duty” is a top-three title and can drive the sale of consoles.

“In acquiring that, that gives both Xbox and Game Pass, at some point, theoretically, exclusivity over that title, which can be a big, big driver of subs, big, big driver of hardware,” Gerson said. “So, that’s why you had — outside of the eye-popping price tag — the initial reaction that you had.”

A Big Win in the Content War

There’s a content war going on, Gerson said. The core of the video game business is the attach rate: the number of pieces of software sold for every piece of hardware and the number of subscribers acquired for every piece of content.

“Now, what we’ve seen is just the acquisitions have gotten bigger and they’re looking for huge games to really drive purchases — and this is one of them,” he said.

Most people think Microsoft is a big winner with this deal because it gets exclusive content, a big library of content, drive titles that may give it more subscriptions and hardware sales, and diversification into new customers. It also got Activision’s 10,000 employees at a time when there’s a tight labor market.

“I think the most important piece that Microsoft got was 10,000 employees — and a lot of those are highly skilled,” Gerson said.

Amazon Aims to Make Shopping for Clothes More Pleasant

During the week, there was also news that Amazon is going to be opening stores dedicated to clothing and fashion. Here, shoppers with the Amazon app will be able to scan the barcode of an item and have it brought to the dressing room in their size.

Read more: Magic Mirror on the Wall, Will Virtual Fitting Rooms Happen After All?

“To me, it’s, how do you gamify or make that experience really more entertaining?” Gerson said. “At the end of the day, you’re going into a dressing room, you’re putting something on, but how do I make that more pleasant, more entertaining?”

Ford, Stripe Aim to Transform Cars

In addition to embedding payments and commerce into experiences, there’s a move to do the same in any connected device, including cars. This week, Ford and Stripe announced plans to turn the car into the ultimate mobile wallet. The technology will authenticate the driver and the vehicle to the points of sale.

Read more: Ford, Stripe Partnership Aims to Transform Cars Into Tokenized Wallets

This is another example of removing friction, Gerson said. For example, someone driving an electric car for a business could plug it into their house overnight and the cost would be charged to the company.

“That removes friction. That makes it easier for businesses, it makes it easier for consumers,” Gerson said. “There’s no question that that’s just the future of payments.”