Microsoft has bought Activision Blizzard

[Rozalia1]

News

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/microsoft-concession-a-gamechanger-that-will-promote-competition

https://www.techradar.com/gaming/its-official-microsofts-activision-acquisition-has-been-closed

 

In short Microsoft has agreed to give Cloud rights (that they've admitted are worthless) to Ubisoft for 15 years... and that is it. The CMA chastises Microsoft for their appalling behaviour throughout all of this, but such a thing is quite meaningless as it won't cause anyone going forward to not employ the tactics that Microsoft did.

 

The FTC will be continuing to fight (credit to them), but unwinding a deal is going to be essentially impossible.

 

Future Buyouts?

Microsoft has stated that this is not the end and they will be buying out more. Will them having gotten Activision hamper doing other big acquisitions? The Xbox fans, real or otherwise, certainly claim so. In reality, going by arguments that Microsoft has made during this deal that is unlikely. You see, gaming can be defined in a number of ways. You have 'Console' which itself has two versions, the one where Nintendo is included and the one where they aren't. With the next Nintendo console being more powerful it will become very easy to have them included in that market. The next argument is to argue that the deal is about 'Mobile' and in that Microsoft is obviously very small so what does it matter who they buy. Finally you have the last resort, gaming as a whole, which Microsoft is ultimately a small part of. Under that one Microsoft can buy all major Western publishers and still not be a 'monopoly' so everything is dandy. The current American FTC wants to change it so deals can be stopped on the basis that even if the deal happening doesn't cause a monopoly in the moment, it likely will in the future, but corruption is very strong in America.

 

Doom?

Microsoft admitted in court that the Bethesda buyout (and by extension the ones before) didn't help their gaming business at all. In fact, their business has actually declined. Their Game Pass that was supposed to destroy the willingness of people to buy games has thus far failed in that effort and has stalled in regards to subscriber numbers. Though it can be expected they'll PR a positive sounding number some time soon as they've converted 'Gold' to 'Game Pass Core'. The studios they've bought out meanwhile have lost important talent and all seem to be operating overbudget and behind schedule. Xbox fans, real or otherwise, claim that this is Microsoft giving these studios the money and time they need to put out the quality game they want to make... and yet even with all that extra money and time, their big games come out in a subpar state. Halo infinite, Redfall, Starfield, Forza, all have had these issues.

 

Now is Activision a much bigger deal than all of that? Yes. That said, they're not without weaknesses, and if Reverse Midas Touch gets a good grip around them then that could be quite the disaster. It has been stated that Bobby Kotick (who detestable as he is knows how to run a gaming business) will stay on at Activision until the end of the year and then he'll be replaced. Microsoft is known to operate under a patronage system where people are rewarded for the support they show for people above them rather than on merit, so Mike Ybarra likely has good odds of getting the job (maybe has gained too much heat to get it) as he has been Microsoft's guy inside Activision (Microsoft likes to do this with their 'former' workers. Their agent Stephen Elop helped get Nokia bought out by Microsoft... which they got utterly wrecked for), but we'll see. Trusting that Xbox will remain badly ran is not something that you want to rely on of course, but it has been ongoing for more than a decade now so possibly it'll never change.

 

What can you do?

First off I will address certain people. Are you not affected at all by this and don't care that Microsoft is trying to buy out the industry? Cool. Please don't talk down to others in the thread as if you're better than them because you don't care, or you have all platforms, or whatever.

 

As for everyone else. If you don't care about Activision's (Microsoft's) games and just don't like these massive buyouts on principle (like myself) then what you can do is easy because you've already been doing it. If however you have liked and do want the games Microsoft has been capturing, then you'll need to decide if you'd rather continue with that or if you are able to cut those out of your life. Something I'll address here is some might say that with this they'll certainly never buy an Xbox and buy Xbox games, but they'll get them on Steam for PC instead. Microsoft loses whatever amount they pay Steam that way, so you're hurting them right? Well, not so much. Due to the amount of damage Game Pass has done to Xbox, if you're buying their games on Steam you're actually putting more in their pocket. If you simply have to play them then subscribing for a month would be the way to put as little as possible in their pocket... but remember that these games tend to release in a bad state and are built to get people to subscribe again later if they're doing the whole 1 month thing.

 

As such the only way to really hurt them is to just not purchase (even on PlayStation, which Microsoft is being forced to put CoD on) or subscribe for Game Pass on any platform. Considering the damage they can cause in gaming is a result of the money they get in other industries, cutting out all other Microsoft products would also further help. Something which obviously can be difficult for many due to all of the monopolies that Microsoft has established with their dirty tactics, but cut them out where you can. The more people who do this, the less likely it becomes that Microsoft can establish that monopoly they so desperately want in gaming, which would be a dark time. Remember that Microsoft is not about putting out great products that people love, but putting out products that people have little choice but to tolerate.

[Titanomachy_75]

In other news Xbox has 3 years to grow Gamepass or they are done! Gamepass has not made any growth in 3 years its hit the peak! HAs the leaks said 3 years to grow lol IN 3 years xbox will be done and it will be a app a cloud base like google stadia with pc gamepass! RIP its over these moves were meant to to for PC because XBOX they know its dead and 3 years its finish

Edited October 13, 2023 by Titanomachy_75

[sepheroithisgod]

It's a sad day for the gaming industry. The consolidation of game developers is not a good thing for anyone no matter who is doing the buyouts.

[MidnightDragon]

Ironic it happens on Friday the 13th.

[Rozalia1]

16 minutes ago, Titanomachy_75 said:

In other news Xbox has 3 years to grow Gamepass or they are done! Gamepass has not made any growth in 3 years its hit the peak! HAs the leaks said 3 years to grow lol IN 3 years xbox will be done and it will be a app a cloud base like google stadia with pc gamepass! RIP its over these moves were meant to to for PC because XBOX they know its dead and 3 years its finish

 

Xbox fans, real or otherwise, have been claiming that such a thing is nonsense (ignore the evidence that leaked and what came out of Spencer's own chicken lips in court) and Microsoft doing buy outs is a sign that they're in it for the long haul and won't just give up. That isn't how it works however. Nokia for example was a famed phone brand that Microsoft bought for 7.6 billion dollars and then just 2 years later they're writing off and then a year after selling whatever is left for 350 million. If they buy out Activision and Game Pass continues to fail to the point they know it won't ever work, all while Activision's value plummets then Microsoft's management isn't going to say 'well we spent 69 billion, so we got to keep going', they'll look to write it off and sell it to recoup some of the money spent as they did with Nokia.

 

11 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

Ironic it happens on Friday the 13th.

 

Hopefully a dark day for Microsoft/Xbox and not for gaming.

[JPtheNeurotic]

Time to advance the decay of the game industry by playing my Xbox 360 😱

[Helyx]

All things considered, I think this will highlight just how piss poor Microsoft manages their studios.

 

As for Playstation, staying in our lane and partaking in finer experiences; just another day.

[Dark_Overlord]

I've been saying it for years, but I expect a 2nd video games crash, only this time I think it'll be the big publishers that will get destroyed, whereas indie devs will be able to ride it out.

[flthy-anml]

While it's sad that it basically opens the floodgates wider for Microsoft to wheel their bottomless trough of money around, I personally don't see it as all that much of a loss considering ABK's current record. It could've been a hell of a lot worse, but luckily for now it's just an embarrassing name buying an even more embarrassing name.

 

I'll miss Crash, though.

Edited October 13, 2023 by flthy-anml

[Sailar91]

Guys let's face it, Sony just became what Nintendo had become when PlayStation arrived

Edited October 13, 2023 by Sailar91

[Speling_Expirt]

Sigh. A sad day for gaming.

 

Consolidation isn't better. XBox won't stop at Activision by the way. They've just been given the green light to buy whoever the fuck they want (muscle their way in). Money talks.

Edited October 13, 2023 by ZedsDeadStevo
Spelling mistake

[Deceptrox]

Outside of Starcraft, I really don't care about Activision/Blizzard's ips and Starcraft is PC only so that buyout will never affect me. I've never played a Call of Duty title but I may (or may not) play the ones given on PS+ as long as they don't require to buy DLC or spend money at all but in the end I'll probably only play a Crash or Spyro game instead.

 

The Bethesda deal on the other hand is the one that bothered me since there were so many great ips and some will only be released on Xbox from now on, at least the high profile ones e.g. Doom, probably Wolfenstein as well.

 

However despite of Bethesda's buyout I'll just stick to PlayStation since quality wise it has the better experience, it's the dominant console in my country (I've never met someone who owns an Xbox, just Nintendo owners), and I've never been interested in Xbox at all and I can assure that that's the only thing that will always remain the same for me. They can buy all studios on the planet and I still won't buy an Xbox, it just doesn't appeal to me and it will never do.

 

[UsedDampTowel]

At least we have rising PSN prices guys! 😅

[MidnightDragon]

15 minutes ago, Sailar91 said:

Guys let's face it, Sony just became what Nintendo had become when PlayStation arrived

This still doesn't make MS the biggest name in the gaming market, surprisingly. 

[Tsundokuist]

2 minutes ago, Sailar91 said:

Guys let's talk about it, Sony just became what Nintendo had become when PlayStation arrived

I’ll take any bet that Xbox Gamepass is something you can subscribe to on PlayStation before PlayStation is the “3rd-place” console.

 

Personally, I think this acquisition has much bigger implications in the PC space than it does for consoles. The Japanese (and weebs like myself) won’t be buying Xboxs based on this alone, many others will keep buying PlayStations simply because they don’t make a considered/informed purchasing decision or brand loyalty comes into play.
 

Then you have “core” gamers leaving Playstation purely for the Activision-Blizzard/Bethesda 1-2 punch and on that front a gaming PC also makes one hell of a case.

[DavySuicide]

So glad that i don`t give a single dime about their franchises ^^ been focusing on indie games and small companies for years now. I do play some AAA but i indies are my future in gaming all along. Beside this it`s sad but i think it`s a reflection of our generation (  i mean it`s the same in sports and music ) Money talks always was, always will. 

[Wabo_RockyXD]

1 hour ago, Rozalia1 said:

News

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/microsoft-concession-a-gamechanger-that-will-promote-competition

https://www.techradar.com/gaming/its-official-microsofts-activision-acquisition-has-been-closed

 

In short Microsoft has agreed to give Cloud rights (that they've admitted are worthless) to Ubisoft for 15 years... and that is it. The CMA chastises Microsoft for their appalling behaviour throughout all of this, but such a thing is quite meaningless as it won't cause anyone going forward to not employ the tactics that Microsoft did.

 

The FTC will be continuing to fight (credit to them), but unwinding a deal is going to be essentially impossible.

 

Future Buyouts?

Microsoft has stated that this is not the end and they will be buying out more. Will them having gotten Activision hamper doing other big acquisitions? The Xbox fans, real or otherwise, certainly claim so. In reality, going by arguments that Microsoft has made during this deal that is unlikely. You see, gaming can be defined in a number of ways. You have 'Console' which itself has two versions, the one where Nintendo is included and the one where they aren't. With the next Nintendo console being more powerful it will become very easy to have them included in that market. The next argument is to argue that the deal is about 'Mobile' and in that Microsoft is obviously very small so what does it matter who they buy. Finally you have the last resort, gaming as a whole, which Microsoft is ultimately a small part of. Under that one Microsoft can buy all major Western publishers and still not be a 'monopoly' so everything is dandy. The current American FTC wants to change it so deals can be stopped on the basis that even if the deal happening doesn't cause a monopoly in the moment, it likely will in the future, but corruption is very strong in America.

 

Doom?

Microsoft admitted in court that the Bethesda buyout (and by extension the ones before) didn't help their gaming business at all. In fact, their business has actually declined. Their Game Pass that was supposed to destroy the willingness of people to buy games has thus far failed in that effort and has stalled in regards to subscriber numbers. Though it can be expected they'll PR a positive sounding number some time soon as they've converted 'Gold' to 'Game Pass Core'. The studios they've bought out meanwhile have lost important talent and all seem to be operating overbudget and behind schedule. Xbox fans, real or otherwise, claim that this is Microsoft giving these studios the money and time they need to put out the quality game they want to make... and yet even with all that extra money and time, their big games come out in a subpar state. Halo infinite, Redfall, Starfield, Forza, all have had these issues.

 

Now is Activision a much bigger deal than all of that? Yes. That said, they're not without weaknesses, and if Reverse Midas Touch gets a good grip around them then that could be quite the disaster. It has been stated that Bobby Kotick (who detestable as he is knows how to run a gaming business) will stay on at Activision until the end of the year and then he'll be replaced. Microsoft is known to operate under a patronage system where people are rewarded for the support they show for people above them rather than on merit, so Mike Ybarra likely has good odds of getting the job (maybe has gained too much heat to get it) as he has been Microsoft's guy inside Activision (Microsoft likes to do this with their 'former' workers. Their agent Stephen Elop helped get Nokia bought out by Microsoft... which they got utterly wrecked for), but we'll see. Trusting that Xbox will remain badly ran is not something that you want to rely on of course, but it has been ongoing for more than a decade now so possibly it'll never change.

 

What can you do?

First off I will address certain people. Are you not affected at all by this and don't care that Microsoft is trying to buy out the industry? Cool. Please don't talk down to others in the thread as if you're better than them because you don't care, or you have all platforms, or whatever.

 

As for everyone else. If you don't care about Activision's (Microsoft's) games and just don't like these massive buyouts on principle (like myself) then what you can do is easy because you've already been doing it. If however you have liked and do want the games Microsoft has been capturing, then you'll need to decide if you'd rather continue with that or if you are able to cut those out of your life. Something I'll address here is some might say that with this they'll certainly never buy an Xbox and buy Xbox games, but they'll get them on Steam for PC instead. Microsoft loses whatever amount they pay Steam that way, so you're hurting them right? Well, not so much. Due to the amount of damage Game Pass has done to Xbox, if you're buying their games on Steam you're actually putting more in their pocket. If you simply have to play them then subscribing for a month would be the way to put as little as possible in their pocket... but remember that these games tend to release in a bad state and are built to get people to subscribe again later if they're doing the whole 1 month thing.

 

As such the only way to really hurt them is to just not purchase (even on PlayStation, which Microsoft is being forced to put CoD on) or subscribe for Game Pass on any platform. Considering the damage they can cause in gaming is a result of the money they get in other industries, cutting out all other Microsoft products would also further help. Something which obviously can be difficult for many due to all of the monopolies that Microsoft has established with their dirty tactics, but cut them out where you can. The more people who do this, the less likely it becomes that Microsoft can establish that monopoly they so desperately want in gaming, which would be a dark time. Remember that Microsoft is not about putting out great products that people love, but putting out products that people have little choice but to tolerate.

its friday 13, lol

what a coincidence

[D-E-U-S-X]

Xbox is like a drowning man who tries to save himself but drags more and more others down with him.

[DrBloodmoney]

I look forward to playing all the great games that will result from this, when all the talent starts draining out, and forming their own indie studios ☺️

[ruexnimbus]

I don't think there will be a video game industry crash but more likely a player base schism between people following what's trending and people playing what appeals to them on a personal level.

[JPtheNeurotic]

7 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

I look forward to playing all the great games that will result from this, when all the talent starts draining out, and forming their own indie studios ☺️

That’s honestly wishful thinking. There’s been a lot of cases where that’s happened and ..nothing really came of it . Not say it can’t happen , I sure as heck don’t have any examples tje top of my head ( uhh maybe obsidian ?) 

[DeepEyes7]

2 minutes ago, JPtheNeurotic said:

That’s honestly wishful thinking. There’s been a lot of cases where that’s happened and ..nothing really came of it . Not say it can’t happen , I sure as heck don’t have any examples tje top of my head ( uhh maybe obsidian ?) 

 

At least Shinji Mikami leave Tango and he is back in business... But not under MS...

 

 

[skotafactor]

26 minutes ago, DavySuicide said:

So glad that i don`t give a single dime about their franchises ^^ been focusing on indie games and small companies for years now. I do play some AAA but i indies are my future in gaming all along. Beside this it`s sad but i think it`s a reflection of our generation (  i mean it`s the same in sports and music ) Money talks always was, always will. 

Indie isn’t always safe from Microsoft’s net, either. My beloved DoubleFine 😭. It was a miracle that Psychonauts 2 still got a PS4 release. 

[Ashande]

12 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

I look forward to playing all the great games that will result from this, when all the talent starts draining out, and forming their own indie studios ☺️

 

@DeepEyes7Beat me to it, but Mikami’s heading back to work already… maybe him and Kamiya can get together, conjure a little of the old magic.

[JPtheNeurotic]

1 minute ago, DeepEyes7 said:

 

At least Shinji Mikami leave Tango and he is back in business... But not under MS...

 

 

Lol  this just reminded me platinum is an example after leaving capcom .

 

I honestly forgot he left tango . Was their a reason why ?