Albert Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Looks like Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard: https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/18/22889258/microsoft-activision-blizzard-xbox-acquisition-call-of-duty-overwatch Here's the official press release: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/01/18/welcoming-activision-blizzard-to-microsoft-gaming/ This will certainly bolster their Xbox Game Pass, which is already quite good. And Microsoft now owns Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon, among other interesting things. Doesn't look like they are kicking Kotick to the curb right away, but I doubt he'll last long. ..Al 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 When is Microsoft buying AtariAge? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youxia Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Terrible news. Eventually we will end up with 2-3 mega zaibatsus controlling absolutely everything. "Metaverse platforms", what a farce. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Not Good 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuxon86 Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Well, they may be able to make World of Warcraft fun again with a new direction. Eh, I'd like a consolized version to play on my 4k 65" TV. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluswimmer Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 To be honest when I saw this it took a moment for me to register this as real. Could they really be making another huge acquisition after the Bethesda deal less than a year ago? The answer was yes, I suppose. Putting my feelings about Kotick and the company's culture aside, frankly I'm pretty indifferent since I don't play any Activision games beyond their 2600 library. I feel like most of their major titles are going to remain multiplatform, like Minecraft. It seems like the deal isn't going to close until June 2023, and Activision will remain independent until then. I'm in full agreement that they need to get Kotick out of there as soon as they can, though even with him gone it's going to take a lot to address the major issues with the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 12 minutes ago, Tuxon86 said: Well, they may be able to make World of Warcraft fun again with a new direction. Eh, I'd like a consolized version to play on my 4k 65" TV. I was joking about this with a coworker today. I starting playing in Burning Crusade and left around Legion, I think it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuxon86 Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 5 minutes ago, digdugnate said: I was joking about this with a coworker today. I starting playing in Burning Crusade and left around Legion, I think it was. I still play it, but I'm not liking the latest expansion, even though I loved the story leading to it. Some of the best cinematic made. I just made a new toon this weekend and I'll try again to go through it. There's already a leak of the next xpac which is supposed to lead to a reset of the world of Azeroth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 (edited) Let's hope Microsoft is interested in giving the world a new Activision Anthology. At least one can dream. Activision's current fare holds little interest to me personally, but I'd love to see the corporate winds shift where they'd again bring out a collection of some of their past glories. Edited January 18, 2022 by Atariboy 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammR25 Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 What I find weird is this means Microsoft owns everything Sierra and Papyrus sold. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlawleZ Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I'm hoping on a long shot MS goes with Battle.net for PC branding over the counterintuitive Xbox name. Maybe a small chance they'll allow Blizzard to spin off when it's all said and done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Huge for Microsoft. Unlike Bethesda, ActiBlizzard has 400 million players (GamePass is great but only has 25 million subscribers). They bought this for the content and the customers and this could really make GamePass explode. I heard some interesting commentary from Bloomberg talking about how they were surprised that something like this hadn't happened sooner. If you follow the trends, the entertainment money comes with lots of varied content (Netflix, HBO, Disney+) and video games may have simply been a bit late to see the content consolidate around a few distributors. Once the AntiTrust aspect gets worked out, I would expect for Amazon, Sony, Apple or even Netflix to make a move on Electronic Arts. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Now I'm thinking about what the implications are for Steam and Origin. How many daily players does Steam have globally? Could Xbox/Gamepass for PC threaten Steam if they move all ActiBlizzard users over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Kai Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Better Microsoft than tencent! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razzie.P Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I would have bought them, but I drew a hard line at $66B and they wouldn't budge 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeneu Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 WTF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I noted that $68 billion is just over half the Swedish state budget per year. I'm sure there are a lot of smaller countries with far lower state budgets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeneu Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Creating monopoly power is never good for the consumer. Especially with Gamepass and the death of physical media. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 25 minutes ago, agradeneu said: Creating monopoly power is never good for the consumer. Especially with Gamepass and the death of physical media. The Anti-Trust aspect will be examined for sure on this deal. I also wonder if EA will reconsider the close relationship between GamePass and EA Play . . . This deal has all kinds of things that make you think. Apparently, Nintendo is "only" valued at somewhere around $70B - makes you think. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 (edited) Activision Blizzard CEO Is GONE After Microsoft Merger & Gaming Community Celebrates! Edited January 18, 2022 by roadrunner link 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 The only logical next step for Microsoft is to buy Nintendo, then Sony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Just because you have the money, doesn't mean that everything is for sale. Or well, if you have INSANE amounts of money, perhaps it is. Now if Nintendo is valued at $70B, I don't know how many X that value someone would have to cough up to convince the owners to make it shift hands. $200B? $350B? $500B? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 3 hours ago, wongojack said: Huge for Microsoft. Unlike Bethesda, ActiBlizzard has 400 million players (GamePass is great but only has 25 million subscribers). They bought this for the content and the customers and this could really make GamePass explode. I heard some interesting commentary from Bloomberg talking about how they were surprised that something like this hadn't happened sooner. If you follow the trends, the entertainment money comes with lots of varied content (Netflix, HBO, Disney+) and video games may have simply been a bit late to see the content consolidate around a few distributors. Once the AntiTrust aspect gets worked out, I would expect for Amazon, Sony, Apple or even Netflix to make a move on Electronic Arts. I think this is the play they're making. Huge stable of content, long tail of service-subscriptions to dribble it out to customers. Games and entertainment have changed a lot and buying a disc to play a game hasn't exactly worked in the old record-store way for a while now. Hopefully there will still be plenty of room for smaller studios to innovate and create, despite this consolidation. Also, Candy Crush and World of Warcraft under the same roof! What could POSSIBLY go wrong. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 3 hours ago, Cobra Kai said: Better Microsoft than tencent! That was my first thought when I heard the news as well. Also, that I'm not really into any of the games offered by the new company, despite their popularity. Getting old! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlidellMan Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Both Activision and Blizzard have gone downhill this past eleven years, and while I don't approve of another Microsoft buyout; the former is in dire need of new management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.