Current Events > Microsoft is buying Activision-Blizzard

(+) Yeah! (+)

Gwynevere posted...

Wonder how much of it will end up on game pass? I was wanting to play some Black Ops 2 but that shit is still $60, would be nice to see it pop up on there

Barring exclusive deals, MS will probably try to put all on gamepass as fast as possible (besides maybe World of Warcraft since that is a subscription).

Wtf.

I can't believe this happened.

What exclusives does MS now have, then? Apart from Call of Duty, obviously?

SamuelLJackdson posted...

$70 billion? Wth? That seems way too much.

With how big the video game industry is and how big Activision-Blizzard properties are (espeically Call of Duty, one of the most succesful series in history), it kind of seems like a steal to me. Especially if they can wipe stain off what happened to Blizzard in the past few years.

YellowSUV posted...

Barring exclusive deals, MS will probably try to put all on gamepass as fast as possible (besides maybe World of Warcraft since that is a subscription).

MS fixing WoW, putting it on gamepass and waiving the sub fee would be incredible.

Sunhawk posted...

Wtf.

I can't believe this happened.

What exclusives does MS now have, then? Apart from Call of Duty, obviously?

Candy Crush

YellowSUV posted...

Barring exclusive deals, MS will probably try to put all on gamepass as fast as possible (besides maybe World of Warcraft since that is a subscription).

Diablo 4 on Game Pass............ I didn't plan on buying it cause fuck Actiblizz, but now, maybe.......................

pogo_rabid posted...

MS fixing WoW, putting it on gamepass and waiving the sub fee would be incredible.

Does MS have experience making good MMOs?

The idea that this will fix WoW imo is laughable. What this will do is just have MS make spinoffs. If you like those, good. If you just a WoW fan, I not so sure this is good for you.

sauceje posted...

Diablo 4 on Game Pass............ I didn't plan on buying it cause fuck Actiblizz, but now, maybe.......................

Yeah, I was in the same exact boat. But I trust phil spencer. He has yet to do anything to make me worried about the companies under the M$ umbrella.

Microsoft turning into the Disney of videogames...

WingsOfGood posted...

Does MS have experience making good MMOs?

The idea that this will fix WoW imo is laughable. What this will do is just have MS make spinoffs. If you like those, good. If you just a WoW fan, I not so sure this is good for you.

Neglect and corporate mandates ruined WoW. It can still be salvaged by the actual MMO developers if they're allowed to do so. But for the last 10 years they haven't been getting any budget or priority and their leadership has made choices that only bolster the cash shop potential while focusing on mobile games.

Guess I gotta get a Series X down the line

but hey, if this means Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 day one on Game Pass, then go ahead Microsoft! >_>

Jabodie posted...

Guess I gotta get a Series X down the line

Or just play on PC, breh.

The xbox brand is tied to gamepass more than a physical console these days. PC gets everything the console does.

Imagine WoW added to Gamepass. Holy shit.

Fony posted...

Neglect and corporate mandates ruined WoW. It can still be salvaged by the actual MMO developers if they're allowed to do so. But for the last 10 years they haven't been getting any budget or priority and their leadership has made choices that only bolster the cash shop potential while focusing on mobile games.

Pretty sure they will be canned since alot of them were part of the cosby suite stuff?

DepreceV2 posted...

Imagine WoW added to Gamepass. Holy shit.

they will still find a way to charge you extra tho. lol

pogo_rabid posted...

Or just play on PC, breh.

The xbox brand is tied to gamepass more than a physical console these days. PC gets everything the console does.

If part prices ever come down

People seem to overlook the fact that now that Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard they have control over Koticks actions. Phil Spencer is a hell of a lot more reliable than Bobby Kotick.

I honestly feel somewhat sick from all the acquisitions.

This is actually a good thing. Microsoft's gaming culture is far more gamer-friendly than Activision's has been. The main problem being that Kotick wanted Blizzard itself to become more like King. Low cost, high yield games as opposed to the high cost, medium yield that a game like WoW was. You could see the influence in how Blizzard kept talking about going mobile over the last few years. Don't you all have phones, after all? Microsoft at least lends some hope that maybe they'll keep go back to viewing mobile gaming and pc gaming as separate being and just let Blizz games do their own thing without upper management pressure to monetize the game to its detriment.

https://twitter.com/gamesbizuk/status/1483435864378290179/photo/1

Damn this is actually crazy

Lairen posted...

Imagine being offered 70B for your company after its been sexually harassing women for years.

Bobby isn't getting 70B if that's what you're implying.

Antifar posted...

https://twitter.com/gamesbizuk/status/1483435864378290179/photo/1

So Microsoft is going to wait a year until they officially own them and then fire Bobby? That would be fucking hilarious

DUKLegend posted...

Microsoft's gaming culture is far more gamer-friendly than Activision's has been.

After fallout 76, and the constant skyrim rereleases, I had zero desire to touch another bethesda game aside from doom. With Todd/Zenimax no longer calling the shots and poisoning their games with overmonetzied bullshit/anticonsumer bullshit (them trying to yeet and delete the modding community), I am optimistic.

I just realized something.... Microsoft owns Bethesda as well... so they could have some guys who worked on Doom or Wolfenstein join the Overwatch team to actually fix that game.

DepreceV2 posted...

So Microsoft is going to wait a year until they officially own them and then fire Bobby? That would be fucking hilarious

6 months after everything is set in stone and the takeover is complete, I imagine they'll have done an internal investigation and found a way to fire him with cause.

Either way Bobby will have a huge payout.

At least M$ can get this company back on track, hopefully.

The agreements he got out of Activision Blizzard are nothing short of nauseatingly disgusting

GALA462 posted...

Either way Bobby will have a huge payout.

At least M$ can get this company back on track, hopefully.

That can be disputed. If criminal charges can be filed against Kotick then all that money will disappear.

Wow that's surprising. There better be an upper management purge (for ethical reasons and the taint of Activision will just transfer to MS if they don't).

Bobby making big bank. Thanks Microsoft

Activision stock (ATVI) is up 30% right now after this news. SONY down 4.75%, but most of the market is down today.

.

Ivany2008 posted...

That can be disputed. If criminal charges can be filed against Kotick then all that money will disappear.

Casual reminder that he can hire a lawyer too

DarkRoast posted...

Casual reminder that he can hire a lawyer too

He can.... but its Microsoft, pretty sure their lawyers are far better than whatever he can pay for.

Ivany2008 posted...

He can.... but its Microsoft, pretty sure their lawyers are far better than whatever he can pay for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XmpaClDlSw

Ivany2008 posted...

He can.... but its Microsoft, pretty sure their lawyers are far better than whatever he can pay for.

We are talking about a guy who gets paid $300 million just to be fired

Antifar posted...

https://twitter.com/gamesbizuk/status/1483435864378290179/photo/1

Does alleged sexual harassment and/or assault count as "cause"?

DarkRoast posted...

We are talking about a guy who gets paid $300 million just to be fired

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/8/7/AAd2inAAC0dz.png

Tom Clark posted...

To be fair, if XBox had CoD exclusivity that would be pretty huge.

CoD is too big, MS wont want to lose 1/3 of the revenue

So he gets paid 252m if he dies?

Wow a news story on CE that actually may impact my life.

VigorouslySwish posted...

CoD is too big, MS wont want to lose 1/3 of the revenue

They will definitely not put Future CoD on playstation. The goal here is to strongarm Sony & Nintendo in allowing an xCloud app on their systems.

VigorouslySwish posted...

CoD is too big, MS wont want to lose 1/3 of the revenue

Nah, the long con is game pass. Sacrifices today mean control and profits tomorrow (not unlike selling consoles at a loss). Plenty of hardcore CoD players will make the switch to Xbox if it means playing their favorite game. It's still early in the adoption of next gen as well. Modern Warfare 2 as xbox exclusive? That itself probably means hefty sales of game pass.

I can see Warzone staying multiplat though.

VigorouslySwish posted...

CoD is too big, MS wont want to lose 1/3 of the revenue

People said the same about Bethesda games. This seems very much about forcing Sony to do what Microsoft wants.

Fucking WHAT