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Microsoft announced this week that it was acquiring Activision Blizzard, the maker of video games such as Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in a deal valued at nearly $70 billion.

Microsoft, the owner of Xbox, said the acquisition was a step toward gaining a foothold in the metaverse.

But what exactly is the metaverse? And why are some of the biggest companies in the world spending billions of dollars to get involved?

Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Does the metaverse even exist? Here’s what you need to know.
• Video games are not merely entertainment anymore. They have become weapons that today’s technology titans wield to try to shape our future.
• The deal for Activision Blizzard would be Microsoft’s biggest ever, and one that places a major bet that people will be spending more and more time in the digital world.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.