Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition, Call of Duty now part of Xbox
Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition, Call of Duty now part of Xbox
The deal has closed after 20 months of legal battles.
Not a fan of market consolidation. It's bad for the consumer at the end of the day.
But if I were to look for a silver lining: 1 More quality Gamepass content and 2 Maybe MS can save Blizzard from itself.
I look forward to 5-10 years from now when the people who were kids now start pointing to this acquisition as the negative "turning point" for Blizzard because they liked Overwatch 2.
omg it can't POSSIBLY get worse for Overwatch... can it? ABK execs have treated that product worse than breast milk stored in the company fridge.
I don't think the kids are that dumb
As somebody who has spent years and years working for ABK and Xbox, my prediction is this integration will be hardest for King.
How so? I remember King being a primary target of the acquisition
AB and Xbox are both North American corporate culture companies, for better or worse. King is very much a Swedish company, and spends a lot of time on the softer side of management.
King was already struggling fitting into AB culture. That work-24/7, Drive for Success™️, I-read-six-books-week-and-get-up-at-4-am-to-exercise culture will now be driven up to 11.
Maybe they can make WoW expansions free with a subscription now, or make it all part of Xbox Game Pass?
WoW being included with a GamePass sub (similar to Fallout 76 or ESO) would be great, but don’t expect any expansions to be included.
All I want is the Xbox adaptation so I can do the grinding/leveling from the couch and only go to the PC for raids. I think with my current lifestyle (work work work, family family family), that's the only way I could realistically play again.
I wonder if MS is more interested in the Activision side. MW/King etc. I think blizzard is just a baggage addon at this point.
Activision has a ton of old unused IP's under their name. Could be a treasure trove if handled correctly.
But have no doubt, Blizzard is part of the prize. It's just a matter if MS can turn the current "climate" around somehow.
Im of the boat that believes innorder to boost gamepass subscription numbers for shareholders, WoW subs will eventually merge into gamepass
I doubt it.
WoW is too old and there's more profit in keeping the subscriptions separate. You might get a couple more expansions though. Whatever is in the works currently.
More likely they'll be trying to bank on D4 and Overwatch to start with. Then, maybe, move on to something else.
Either way they'll try to milk whatever newest franchises are out for as much as they can before doing anything. But current WoW isn't likely to be a flagship for anything.
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Microsoft has finalized its $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo.
The acquisition required 20 months of battles with regulators in the UK and US, but Microsoft has closed its Activision Blizzard deal after defeating the Federal Trade Commission in a US federal court and restructuring the deal to appease the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK.
“As one team, we’ll learn, innovate, and continue to deliver on our promise to bring the joy and community of gaming to more people.
“Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms,” says Spencer.
Activision Blizzard made it clear earlier this week that Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo IV won’t be coming to Xbox Game Pass this year, though.
After the FTC then failed to secure a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft from finalizing its Activision Blizzard acquisition, the CMA and Microsoft instantly agreed to pause their legal battles for a remedy in the UK and eventually negotiated an agreement over cloud gaming rights.
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MS knows that everyone is gonna have their own Sub service just like how Netflix spawned all the Hulus and Disney+s., and it's already started with EA and Ubisoft. To stay relevant they need to own the content, not just rent.
To keep GP relevant they need to cater to all types of gamers. You need RPGs, shooters, indies, classics, strategys, casuals, sims etc. "Something for everyone".
I'ma be honest, I'll consider this a win if Phil does actually get Raven on Hexen 3 like he kinda hinted at. Let's get Warcraft 4 or Prototype 3, some new Tony Hawk. There are a lot of dead IPs that can use a comeback that isn't just a remaster. Maybe they can go back and fix Warcraft 3 and make an Xbox port so that I can lay back on my couch and play that like I have done with AoE2.
If they decide to keep things business as usual it's gonna suck.