Microsoft buys Activision

[Knud | 100]

According to the news Microsoft is buying Activision(Blizzard)for 68 billion dollars. Personally I dont like it.

Thoughts?

story here : https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-buy-activision-blizzard-deal-687-billion-2022-01-18/

Edited January 18, 2022 by Knud

[Mega Tank | 967]

That's a lot of money. I'd be interested to see what, if any changes would happen to GamePass as a result of this.

[Gloves | 11,800]

Honestly, I've had little to no issue with Microsoft as a company for a long time. This could be good, chin up. 

[FireHazard51 | 2,047]

World of Warcraft is coming to console as Xbox exclusive.

I'm not a big blizzard franchise player so this means nothing to me.

[Mega Tank | 967]

14 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said:

World of Warcraft is coming to console as Xbox exclusive.

I'm not a big blizzard franchise player so this means nothing to me.

Come on man, imagine the possibilities. Everyone is waiting for Starcraft to return to console. PFFFT. That Starcraft N64 was a flop lol

[Knud | 100]

Only concern is since I am not big into PC gaming that some titles I would want on switch, will be exclusive to xbox

[RH | 4,924]

I don't play "Microsoft" games, and I've not played a Blizzard title in probably 15 years.  My immediate thought was "could this be the return of Starcraft".

At that purchase price, I can't see M$ NOT milking every franchise that can, so probably, yes, Starcraft will get another game in 3-5 years.  Expect something at E3 in in a year or two.

Side question, did Blizzard ever pull an EA and buy up IP and then never use it?   Any chance there could be a return of some amazing-and-awesome game from the 90s?

I have no clue how well Microsoft will handle any of this, but fans of either I think this is a good idea.  Blizzard already, largely makes PC games so that's a wash.  Going XBox exclusive probably isn't a big loss either.  I'm sure there are Blizzard titles on PS architecture, but I can't think of any.  Or the Switch?  Maybe a retro release, but that was probably one-and-done if it happened.

I guess I wouldn't mind a Starcraft on Switch, but I'm sure that was a pipe dream, regardless.

[Mega Tank | 967]

Also, random thought, Starcraft Ghost anyone? Please. Yes Microsoft? Let's get this game done!

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

World of Minecraft

[TDIRunner | 2,744]

Kind of strange how such a large sale in the video game world could have such a minimal impact on me but I don't play any of those systems or games.  However, that could change in the future since my son has just recently started showing interest in Minecraft based on some YouTube videos he has been watching.  

[RH | 4,924]

Here's what amazes me, from my quick research, Blizzard netted about $681m in 2021.  How was this a good purchase?  M$ paid 100x the revenue Blizzard makes in 1 year.  Not profit, revenue.

So, how long will it take for this purchase to eve be "worth it"? Why does this make sense?  I'll be honest, I don't know how one company buying a public company actually works.  If everyone who owns a share is given a fixed value-per-share, than I guess this could semi make sense if Microsoft owned 95% of the companies stock... oh wait, I doubt they do.

[Brickman | 3,996]

This isn’t just Blizzard it is Activision too which is really the bigger news imo considering how many casuals play CoD.

I don’t really play Blizzard games anymore since they were bought out by Activision so I’m not too phased but I do feel MS are buying a lot of big companies which kills competition.

[Brickman | 3,996]

2 minutes ago, RH said:

Here's what amazes me, from my quick research, Blizzard netted about $681m in 2021.  How was this a good purchase?  M$ paid 100x the revenue Blizzard makes in 1 year.  Not profit, revenue.

So, how long will it take for this purchase to eve be "worth it"? Why does this make sense?  I'll be honest, I don't know how one company buying a public company actually works.  If everyone who owns a share is given a fixed value-per-share, than I guess this could semi make sense if Microsoft owned 95% of the companies stock... oh wait, I doubt they do.

It’s really for Activision who own blizzard. The title is mislabeled. Blizzard were bought out ages ago,

[RH | 4,924]

1 minute ago, Brickman said:

It’s really for Activision who own blizzard. The title is mislabeled. Blizzard were bought out ages ago,

Ah, so Activision likely has much larger revenue per year.  At least I hope they do.

[Brickman | 3,996]

5 minutes ago, RH said:

Ah, so Activision likely has much larger revenue per year.  At least I hope they do.

Just had a very quick look at their finances and they had revenue of close to $9billion YoY. Still quiet a big price but MS weren’t getting CoD for a cheap price

[RH | 4,924]

12 minutes ago, Brickman said:

Just had a very quick look at their finances and they had revenue of close to $9billion YoY. Still quiet a big price but MS weren’t getting CoD for a cheap price

Oh, ok, then that's not bad.  Someone once told me that no company purchase is apples to apples in comparison but roughly speaking, the sweet spot is 10x revenue.  Again this differs, and this was in relationship to a "small" company that brought in $125m/year, was private and being bought by a public company, so I guess Microsoft's purchase might have been "fair".

[Knud | 100]

1 hour ago, Brickman said:

It’s really for Activision who own blizzard. The title is mislabeled. Blizzard were bought out ages ago,

Sorry you are correct, topic has been edited. Just always thought it was the same thing but I was wrong

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I was shellshocked when I saw the news this morning. It doesn't affect me much personally since I don't play CoD or WoW or mobile games, but it's a huge play for casual and semi-casual gamers. From my standpoint, the Bethesda acquisition will produce a heck of a lot more interesting content, but this is still going to pad out Game Pass in a big way. I may even find myself running through a few CoD campaigns if I can do so for the low price of "freeish." Now if we could just get a Starcraft 3...

That being said, I'm wary of so much consolidation in the gaming industry. Microsoft has been on absolute rampage the last five years, buying up studio after studio. But if you listen to the developers they've obtained and look at what they've done with theirs consoles and services, they've been extraordinarily consumer and developer friendly through it all. We're just seeing the fruits of this now, but look at how amazing Psychonauts 2 and Wasteland 3 turned out with a little extra funding to get across the finish line.

I'll consider myself cautiously optimistic for now. Here's to hoping that Microsoft can transform Activision-Blizzard into a better place to work and rescue the developers from the Call of Warcraft churn-and-burn business model.

[RH | 4,924]

4 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

I was shellshocked when I saw the news this morning. It doesn't affect me much personally since I don't play CoD or WoW or mobile games, but it's a huge play for casual and semi-casual gamers. From my standpoint, the Bethesda acquisition will produce a heck of a lot more interesting content, but this is still going to pad out Game Pass in a big way. I may even find myself running through a few CoD campaigns if I can do so for the low price of "freeish." Now if we could just get a Starcraft 3...

That being said, I'm wary of so much consolidation in the gaming industry. Microsoft has been on absolute rampage the last five years, buying up studio after studio. But if you listen to the developers they've obtained and look at what they've done with theirs consoles and services, they've been extraordinarily consumer and developer friendly through it all. We're just seeing the fruits of this now, but look at how amazing Psychonauts 2 and Wasteland 3 turned out with a little extra funding to get across the finish line.

I'll consider myself cautiously optimistic for now. Here's to hoping that Microsoft can transform Activision-Blizzard into a better place to work and rescue the developers from the Call of Warcraft churn-and-burn business model.

That's some good points.  I more toward the end of life of the XBox Series X, I might actually consider getting an Xbox.  You are right, they've bought up a ton of IP over the past several years, and Microsoft has always tried to put developers first.  I've found this to be a net-positive outside of gaming.  Halo is the only IP I've historically had an interest in that's Microsoft exclusive but with all of this big, new IP, I might start paying attention.  I hate Sony, regardless, so if MS can make a VR experience for a reasonable price, that might be the deal maker.

[DarkTone | 986]

Jesus christ, that's petty. 

[Brickman | 3,996]

9 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

I was shellshocked when I saw the news this morning. It doesn't affect me much personally since I don't play CoD or WoW or mobile games, but it's a huge play for casual and semi-casual gamers. From my standpoint, the Bethesda acquisition will produce a heck of a lot more interesting content, but this is still going to pad out Game Pass in a big way. I may even find myself running through a few CoD campaigns if I can do so for the low price of "freeish." Now if we could just get a Starcraft 3...

That being said, I'm wary of so much consolidation in the gaming industry. Microsoft has been on absolute rampage the last five years, buying up studio after studio. But if you listen to the developers they've obtained and look at what they've done with theirs consoles and services, they've been extraordinarily consumer and developer friendly through it all. We're just seeing the fruits of this now, but look at how amazing Psychonauts 2 and Wasteland 3 turned out with a little extra funding to get across the finish line.

I'll consider myself cautiously optimistic for now. Here's to hoping that Microsoft can transform Activision-Blizzard into a better place to work and rescue the developers from the Call of Warcraft churn-and-burn business model.

Yep pretty much my feelings. While I do believe MS have changed for the better over their past antics, it just takes one bad CEO to ruin that goodwill. I like seeing competition in the industry and was sad when Blizzard sold out to Activision (they've never been the same since). I don't like the majority of Activision's games but more studios is better than having the Disney of gaming.

We'll see how it plays out I suppose and it is at least a positive for gamepass which is hands down one of the best things MS have done.

[SpoonMan Abrams X | 697]

Came to see if this had been posted about here. Glad I wasn't disappointed lol

This is an interesting development. Maybe not the worst thing to happen, especially considering the hot water ActiBlizzard has been in for the last number of months with ongoing Allegations/Investigations/Lawsuits. The timing of it is certainly interesting.

M$ posting about it https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/01/18/welcoming-activision-blizzard-to-microsoft-gaming/

7 hours ago, RH said:

Side question, did Blizzard ever pull an EA and buy up IP and then never use it?   Any chance there could be a return of some amazing-and-awesome game from the 90s?

I'm almost sure Activision is a resounding yes. They have more then a few skeletons in their closet (I don't remember specifics off the top of my head, and not the level of EA but all major studios have this to some degree)

I'm sure regardless there will be some exciting announcements in the near-ish future regarding a few old revivals though

1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said:

But if you listen to the developers they've obtained and look at what they've done with theirs consoles and services, they've been extraordinarily consumer and developer friendly through it all. We're just seeing the fruits of this now, but look at how amazing Psychonauts 2 and Wasteland 3 turned out with a little extra funding to get across the finish line.

Sure, it looks good now, but M$ track record, mostly outside the gaming sphere but within it too, is not great in those regard when acquiring other companies & assets

"Embrace, Extend, Extinguish"

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

41 minutes ago, SpoonMan Abrams X said:

Sure, it looks good now, but M$ track record, mostly outside the gaming sphere but within it too, is not great in those regard when acquiring other companies & assets

"Embrace, Extend, Extinguish"

I 100% agree that we should approach with skepticism and caution. It's just been really refreshing to see them grow studios rather than dismantle them over the past few years. It's very encouraging when a luminary like Tim Schafer sings the praises of a massive corporation. And I'm not out here shilling for a 2 trillion dollar company or anything, but I am willing to give credit where credit is due. Phil Spencer and Stay Nadella have really righted the Xbox ship.

[Tanooki | 4,940]

Personally I think in the end for most interested groups of people the impact will be positive or neutral.

If you already were a Windows PC user and XBOX owner you're in great shape.  With the PC they're not greedy and stupid enough to put all things exclusively on WIndows store, so Steam support will carry on.  On the XB, that would be the most positive, console exclusives that used to be dual released.

Sony if anything is rightly fucked.  When they got their hands into Bethesda I think that was the kiss of death for Elder Scrolls playstation wasn't it?  MS isn't going to watch to compete with themselves giving games over to Sony who sells hardware against their own, so Sony is screwed.  Future Blizzard/Activision stuff from Call of Duty and Diablo down to Warcraft potentially could not be put on playstation anymore which would be completely fair and the smart thing to do to help move more hardware.

The outlier would obviously be Nintendo and mobile devices.  MObile I don't see them getting greased, they're not dumb enough to think that's going to make everyone want a windows phone(hah) so perhaps even more games will pop out to exploit that market.  And on that, Nintendo, MS seems to like them, really like them, and do not see them as a competitor at all which is a positive.  It could be where if a Switch Pro/2 shows up and Diablo 4 arrives, it could get the custom conversion (like D3 did on Switch) along with a XB and PC release and *NOTHING* for Playstation.  I could see more custom conversions from their higher end to the more less demanding indie stuff get a mobile release on Nintendo too.

 

It's all speculation really, but flipping Sony the bird of anything I wrote above seems the most obvious move to do.

[Tanooki | 4,940]

10 hours ago, RH said:

Side question, did Blizzard ever pull an EA and buy up IP and then never use it?   Any chance there could be a return of some amazing-and-awesome game from the 90s?

No, they time and again were bought up by one entity after another going back into the 90s such as when they got grabbed by a group that owned Sierra Online and all that in time rolled into Vivendi which died like 15 years ago.  So I mean you would have any IP that Sierra Online controlled still at the time they croaked.  But really if you're thinking 90s, look at early Blizzard/Silicon Synapse stuff.  BLACKTHORNE, LOST VIKINGS, ROCK N ROLL RACING, RPM RACING -- they did a package 11mo ago that was put out on battle.net re-issuing those old games.  There's no reason they couldn't make new ones, they're beloved and not bad.  While I think Blackthorne and RNR would be more likely as a console game, the puzzly Lost Vikings would play well to a mobile device.