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This deal has all the words on my 2022 bingo card: video games, Big Tech consolidation, the "metaverse," workplace sexual misconduct and an open rebellion among employees ... Let's get into it.

By Allison Morrow

🎮 GAME ON

In one of Big Tech's biggest acquisitions ever, Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal valued at around $70 billion.

There's a lot to unpack here. *Cracks knuckles*

First: Activision Blizzard. Funny name, right?

If it sounds familiar (and you're not a gamer), it's because the company's made headlines recently for its toxic workplace culture, including multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against managers at the company, as well as retaliation against the employees who made the allegations. Hundreds of Activision employees previously staged walkouts and called on the company's CEO, Bobby Kotick, to resign.

(A press release announcing the Microsoft deal said that Kotick would remain in his role, but a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the plans, said he was expected to step down after the deal closes.)

Even if you've never heard of Activision, you've almost certainly come across its blockbuster games, which include Call of Duty, Candy Crush and World of Warcraft.

Back to Microsoft: At $69 billion, this would be among the largest mergers in history, and will catapult Microsoft to become the world's third-largest video game company by revenue (after Tencent and Sony). It was already a heavyweight with its Xbox business, but now Microsoft is adding Activision's 400 million monthly active players, plus 10,000 employees, to its roster. As my CNN Business colleagues note, the deal will help Microsoft expand its Xbox audience onto mobile platforms.

Why now?

Video games were already big business, but they became a straight-up bonanza during the pandemic. Now, pretty much everyone in the tech world is clamoring for a portion of the market. And the timing with Activision's negative press is hardly coincidental: Microsoft is snapping up a rival when it's on the ropes.

Finally: What deal would be complete in 2022 if we didn't mention... drumroll please ... the metaverse! That's right, Microsoft is betting big that gaming is going to play a big role in the future of "metaverse platforms."

For the uninitiated, the metaverse is … not really a thing yet. But in theory, it's the 3-D virtual reality hellscape where our digital second lives will play out. Like a Zoom meeting but with better graphics.

Still confused? Yeah, I am too, honestly. This is where I toss the mic to my much smarter colleague Clare Duffy who can explain it better.

RELATED: Which video game company will get scooped up next? Wall Street seems to think Electronic Arts, which makes the super popular Madden NFL franchise, is a likely target.

#️⃣ NUMBER OF THE DAY

$3.9 billion

Goldman Sachs had a phenomenal year, just not phenomenal enough. The investment banking powerhouse said Tuesday that it earned $3.9 billion in the fourth quarter, or $10.81 a share. But that fell short of analysts' expectations for a $4.1 billion, and shares of Goldman Sachs tumbled nearly 8% on the news.

💸 'WOKE' CAPITALISM

Larry Fink wants to make one thing clear: He's a stone-cold capitalist. The CEO of BlackRock, the world's biggest money manager, used his annual letter to clients to set the record straight about why he pushes business leaders to prioritize social good:

"It is not a social or ideological agenda. It is not 'woke.' It is capitalism."

Translation: Don't be fooled by our do-gooder approach — we're only socially conscious because it's good for business.

Some background:

Fink's letter is practically required reading for the executive class, and his words can have a real impact on how companies operate. Because of its sheer size, BlackRock is able to turn the heat up on other big asset managers.

For years, Fink has embraced "stakeholder capitalism" — the idea that a company's purpose is to not only enrich shareholders by maximizing profit but also benefit the lives of its customers, employees and communities it serves. That ethos is relatively new, and, shockingly, still a bit controversial in some corners of business and finance.

It's won Fink both praise and condemnation from across the political spectrum. BlackRock's overstepping, BlackRock's not doing enough, etc.

MY TWO CENTS

I can appreciate what Fink seems to be trying to do here — appeasing his critics on the right who accuse him of mixing business and politics, pushing a left-wing agenda, not staying in his lane, not using his position enough, and so on.

But there's a deeply cynical proposition at the core of his "morally neutral" capitalist message: that the value of doing the right thing is purely monetary.

Here's a thought: What if doing the right thing is, I dunno, a moral imperative with its own inherent value?

My editor and Nightcap co-captain, David Goldman, was reminded of the time, way back in 2014, when Tim Cook snapped at a representative from a conservative think tank who'd asked Cook to commit to a narrow focus on profitability, even at the expense of Apple's sustainability goals. According to witnesses at the meeting, Cook, perhaps the most mild-mannered CEO in Silicon Valley, became visibly angry and fired back at the climate-change skeptic:

"When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind, I don't consider the bloody ROI," Cook said. Later, he added: "If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock."

Telling the climate deniers they should divest if they don't like Apple's green initiatives was a pretty bold move in 2014. Cut to eight years later, Tim Cook must be kicking himself for saying something so controversial... lol, jk. Apple has since become a $3 trillion company and Cook himself received nearly $100 million in total compensation last year, so, yeah, something tells me he's not losing any sleep over that decision.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

✈️ AT&T and Verizon said they would delay activating 5G service around some airports after airline CEOs pleaded with the White House to delay the rollout over concerns the technology will interfere with vital instruments on planes.

📉 Wall Street had another day in the red. The Dow fell 1.5%, or some 540 points— its worst performance since late November. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.6%, putting it in spitting distance of correction territory.

🚲 Peloton says inflation and supply chain challenges have forced it to raise the price of its flagship bike, just five months after cutting it drastically to boost sagging sales.

⚖️ The parents of Austin McEwen, one of the six people killed after a tornado hit an Amazon warehouse in Illinois last month, are suing Amazon.