Microsoft is making its own play in the metaverse with an eye toward gaming.

The company, which is just ahead of Apple for largest market cap in the world at $2.5 trillion, announced an integration with its office-focused Microsoft Teams software and metaverse platform Mesh. 

Launched in March, Mesh creates virtual environments that people can move through as avatars and interact with “shared holographic experiences.” The integration with Teams seeks to create a virtual office, complete with Microsoft’s productivity tools.

A Mesh gaming experience may be next. 

“You can absolutely expect us to do things in gaming,” CEO Satya Nadella told Bloomberg. 

“If you take ‘Halo’ as a game, it is a metaverse,” he explained. “‘Minecraft’ is a metaverse, and so is ‘Flight Sim.’ In some sense, they are 2D today, but the question is, can you now take that to a full 3D world? And so we absolutely plan to do so.”

• Microsoft’s Xbox hardware sales grew 166% year-over-year in its fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30.
• Microsoft’s More Personal Computing segment, which includes Xbox, took in $13.3 billion in the quarter, 29.4% of its $45.3 billion total revenue.
• The company last released a VR headset, the HoloLens 2, in November 2019.

This latest chapter in Microsoft’s gaming ambitions comes as it approaches the 20-year anniversary of the first Xbox release on Nov. 15.

Traditional casinos are at the heart of Caesars Entertainment’s business, but the company continues to make strides in sports betting.

Hampered by Caesars casino closings during the quarter caused by Hurricane Ida and California wildfires, the potential of online sports betting has become increasingly apparent. 

• The company completed its acquisition of sportsbook William Hill in April for $4 billion.
• It launched its sportsbook app in 11 states with Arizona and Maryland pending review.
• It expects to be profitable in sports betting by the 2023 football season.

Caesars pocketed $2.69 billion in total revenue in Q3 2021, up from $1.44 billion for the same period a year prior. 

Last year, Caesars merged with Eldorado Resorts in a deal valued at $17 billion, creating the largest casino and entertainment company in the U.S. 

The combined company operates more than 55 casino properties worldwide, including eight hotel properties in Las Vegas, one of which it plans to sell early next year to help alleviate debt.

Caesars isn’t far behind its rival MGM Resorts, which reported $2.7 billion in revenue in Q3 2021, a 140% increase year-over-year, in its latest earnings report on Wednesday.

Take-Two Interactive’s earnings held steady on Wednesday as it anticipates the next release in its hugely popular “Grand Theft Auto” series.

The company, which owns major game makers including Rockstar and 2K, saw net revenue grow 2% year-over-year to $858.2 million. Digital sales accounted for 89% of Take-Two’s bookings, led by “Grand Theft Auto” and “NBA 2K.”

The company raised its full fiscal year guidance to up to $3.4 billion, with remasters of three classic “Grand Theft Auto” titles coming in November. “Grand Theft Auto V” is the most profitable entertainment property in history, according to Bloomberg. 

Take-Two’s chief rival in sports gaming, “FIFA”-maker Electronic Arts, posted its strongest fiscal second quarter in its history, banking $1.83 billion in the three months ending Sept. 30.

The results were “primarily driven by our EA Sports titles and Apex Legends,” said CFO Blake Jorgensen.

• EA’s revenue grew 58.6% year-over-year and 35.5% over the same period in 2019.
• EA raised its full-year adjusted sales projection to $7.63 billion from $7.4 billion.

“We’re positioned for a strong holiday season driven by our exciting ‘Battlefield 2042’ game,” Jorgensen added.

The company has built out its mobile portfolio this year through acquisitions, buying Playdemic for $1.4 billion in June, Glu Mobile at a $2.1 billion value in February, and Codemasters for $1.2 billion that same month.

EA and FIFA are parting ways on their exclusive licensing agreement, ending a 28-year partnership.

The EuroLeague’s first six basketball games this season will be streamed live to U.S. users for a one-off payment via Facebook after a new media rights deal between the entities.

U.S. players account for 25% of the league, including former NBA players Kenneth Faried, Derrick Williams, and Shane Larkin. The Dallas Mavericks’ Slovenian star Luka Doncic also played in the league.

The news comes a day after shareholders in the league’s clubs voted to dismiss Jordi Bertomeu from his chairman and CEO positions.

The EuroLeague isn’t the first sports organization Facebook has teamed up with.

• The Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wanderers broadcast six of their preseason matches on Facebook’s paywalled platform this year, helping bring in record preseason viewership numbers.
• The Challenge Miami Triathlon brought 18,300 fans to the platform for $2.99 each in March.
• In February, Brazil’s Serie A and Serie B soccer began streaming live on Facebook to overseas fans.
• Major Arena Soccer League partnered with Facebook in January to broadcast games for $7.99 each game or $74.99 per season.

In 2018, Facebook obtained exclusive free-to-air rights for 32 live matches to the Champions League each season in Latin America and every La Liga game between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons in India, but Facebook did not renew the deals in March.