Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard

[beecue]

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/01/18/welcoming-activision-blizzard-to-microsoft-gaming/

Not much gaming news here but this is pretty crazy!

I'm tempted to cancel my GP that expires in Sept so I can renew for 3 years at current rate.

I don't think that deal is lasting much longer.

[killramos]

That is… surprising.

[2Legit2Quit]

67 billion, gawd damn

[killramos]

67 billion, gawd damn

On 2.9 billion TTM cash flow.

If I was a MS shareholder I’d be pissed.

[rage2]

It’s the long game. Taking huge IPs out of the PlayStation ecosystem is a massive win for Microsoft, especially when Sony is looking to start their own game pass service.

[killramos]

Gonna be a lot of loot boxes in that long game lol

[Team_Mclaren]

God damn, all cash deal too. GP just got more valuable?

[Xtrema]

Gonna be a lot of loot boxes in that long game lol

MS is down 2% on the deal. In the meantime, January patch Tuesday has burn many businesses that runs Windows OS. Wish they would throw that team a couple bil.

COD got the chads and Blizzard side got the geeks. Now MS just need something like Genshin Impact ($2.5B cash flow/year on a single game) from Asia to get the waifu weebs and they will get every gaming sector cornered.

Netflix spend $14B/year on originals. So if Gamepass wants to be Netflix of gaming, it kinda make sense. Amazon and Netflix seems to already dip their toes a bit into gaming.

[killramos]

This is just to buy the studios. They still need to invest in future content. Which these days is $$$.

Gamepass has a ceiling for what people will pay for it, and I doubt it is much higher than it is currently, no matter how much content it has.

This isn’t a smart deal for Microsoft. Not at that price.

[Xtrema]

This is just to buy the studios. They still need to invest in future content. Which these days is $$$.

Gamepass has a ceiling for what people will pay for it, and I doubt it is much higher than it is currently, no matter how much content it has.

This isn’t a smart deal for Microsoft. Not at that price.

Meh, how much dev $ you have to throw at Candy Crush? :D But this may start something. Netflix may want to snap up Riot Games next.

And EA be like:
103935

Also, MS may want to use the power of position to price Netflix and may be even Amazon out and make Sony having a tougher pill swallow for a competing service.

[rage2]

This is just to buy the studios. They still need to invest in future content. Which these days is $$$.

Gamepass has a ceiling for what people will pay for it, and I doubt it is much higher than it is currently, no matter how much content it has.

This isn’t a smart deal for Microsoft. Not at that price.
The value on game pass is ridiculously good today, before this deal. The key though is to increase the subscriber base which is what this deal will easily bring. At some point you won’t have the option but to pay price increases to play your favorite games, like it or not.

Wonder if antitrust will get involved. I mean I see what MS strategy is here, but it’s borderline monopolistic going forward if they make these IPs exclusive to PC and Xbox and shut out Sony. They’re already doing it with Bethesda.

[Xtrema]

In the meantime, Sony exclusives are showing up on Steam for PC.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Is CoD still relevant? I haven't played one in 8 years and they were starting to suck then.
They should reboot Frostbite.

[killramos]

Is CoD still relevant? I haven't played one in 8 years and they were starting to suck then.
They should reboot Frostbite.

CoD as you and I think of it? Yes.

What CoD is now is Warzone.

Kiddies love warzone.

[rage2]

CoD as you and I think of it? Yes.

What CoD is now is Warzone.

Kiddies love warzone.
I still play the single player campaign yearly. Ain’t as good as the MW days, but still solid. Multiplayer warzone crap is a money printer haha.

[Xtrema]

Is CoD still relevant? I haven't played one in 8 years and they were starting to suck then.
They should reboot Frostbite.

Still in top 10 if you based it on Twitch watch stats.

[killramos]

I still play the single player campaign yearly. Ain’t as good as the MW days, but still solid. Multiplayer warzone crap is a money printer haha.

There is no money in you replaying a 3 year old game haha

[Tik-Tok]

Wonder if antitrust will get involved. I mean I see what MS strategy is here, but it’s borderline monopolistic going forward if they make these IPs exclusive to PC and Xbox and shut out Sony. They’re already doing it with Bethesda.

The trick is to stop making games exclusive, but don't make the graphics optimal either. Also make the PS versions buggy as shit, with updates a month behind Xbox/PC

[killramos]

The trick is to stop making games exclusive, but don't make the graphics optimal either. Also make the PS versions buggy as shit, with updates a month behind Xbox/PC

I think that’s the EA model.

Except they do that for every platform.

[Pauly Boy]

I need another Pizza Pops promo to stock up on Game Pass time, lol

Microsoft coming at Sony hard though.

[Buster]

The value on game pass is ridiculously good today, before this deal. The key though is to increase the subscriber base which is what this deal will easily bring. At some point you won’t have the option but to pay price increases to play your favorite games, like it or not.

Wonder if antitrust will get involved. I mean I see what MS strategy is here, but it’s borderline monopolistic going forward if they make these IPs exclusive to PC and Xbox and shut out Sony. They’re already doing it with Bethesda.

Zero chance of that.

Video games are a very healthy market.

[suntan]

Video games make more revenue than movies and music combined.

[Brent.ff]

All about that microtransaction life.. I dont see MS making anything exclusive when they make money off every platform (see Warzone.. free to play yet printing money)

[spikerS]

Video games make more revenue than movies and music combined.

Mobile gaming brings in more revenue than all the other gaming platforms, movies, and music combined.

Seriously, games like candy crush bring in 10's of millions a month, even 100's of millions a month, for games that require very little programming aside from graphics like, for example, Candy Crush. All those little microtransactions of $1-$5 add up to serious bank. It blows my mind how profitable those dumb little games are.


Though initially released with advertising to help with revenue, King removed the advertising in 2013, and solely has earned money from the game in the form of in-app purchases.[30] Only a small percentage of the player base has purchased in-game items, up to around 4%, but this has led to millions of dollars in monthly revenue for King.[30] In 2014, Candy Crush Saga players spent over $1.33 billion on in-app purchases. This is a decline from the previous year, since in the second half of 2013 players spent over $1.04 billion.[7] By 2015, the monthly revenue was estimated at $120 million, but with declining players purchasing in-game items, down to 2% by 2016, that revenue has dropped to just over $53 million per month.[30] Again, by the end of October 2018, the monthly revenue rose to $128 million.[31]

Five years after its release on mobile, the Candy Crush Saga series has received over 2.73 billion downloads.[32] Its revenue for the quarter ending September 2017 was $250 million, having gained significant improvement in year-to-year revenues from 2016.[24] It remains one of the top gross-revenue earnings app for mobile in the four years leading up to 2017.[24] By the end of July 2018, the total revenue earned by this game stood at $3.91 billion.[31]

[ZenOps]

Even mobile games are better than music nowadays. The thing with the music and movie industry is that its got an insane royalty structure.

Once a small indie developer gets to the point where they can charge 99 cents to an audience of 100 million, that is when the money starts rolling in. India with its billion person population is just now catching up in hardware capability of somewhere around Team Fortress 2 where they would be feeling comfortable throwing down 99 cents for a digital diversion.

[rage2]

Sony stock is in a free fall. Down 13% since the news, wiped out $20b in market cap.

Guess that means no new call of duty on PS5?

[taemo]

let me know if you guys are able to get Game Pass added on your MS EA :rofl:

[Xtrema]

Sony stock is in a free fall. Down 13% since the news, wiped out $20b in market cap.

Guess that means no new call of duty on PS5?

No amount of Spideman can save Sony now. They don't have the ammo to fight.

What can they really do to retaliate? They don't have the infrastructure or capital to compete. Only a merger with Amazon can potentially fight it.

[killramos]

Buy Ubi seems the tit for tat move. They need a management shakeup anyway.

Starve Xbox if the few remaining single player multi platform titles they have and position PS5 as the console for that market.

[Xtrema]

Buy Ubi seems the tit for tat move. They need a management shakeup anyway.

Starve Xbox if the few remaining single player multi platform titles they have and position PS5 as the console for that market.

Ubi doesn't even have huge hit on their hand. Even buying EA won't have the shock value MS just pulled.

PS5 is already land of single player exclusives but that's not where the money is. Sounds like future is some sort of Gamepass/Xcloud where hardware will mean a lot less over time.

[cyra1ax]

Ubi doesn't even have huge hit on their hand.


So much this. Feels like Ubi has been treading water for a while. Most of their shit just feels like reskins of the same base game. AFAIK the only real lever they have left is bringing back Splinter Cell, but they'll probably fuck that up too.

[rage2]

PS5 is already land of single player exclusives but that's not where the money is. Sounds like future is some sort of Gamepass/Xcloud where hardware will mean a lot less over time.
Wouldn’t that be brutal for Sony. New COD still available on PlayStation… via xcloud.

[Xtrema]

Wouldn’t that be brutal for Sony. New COD still available on PlayStation… via xcloud.

And Sony will have to ban all web browser on PS to close that backdoor.

[Buster]

I thought I was a gamer, but I guess not. I have no idea what any of you are talking about.

[suntan]

I thought I was a gamer, but I guess not. I have no idea what any of you are talking about.

Your Atari 2600 from 40 years ago doesn’t make you a gamer.

[Buster]

Your Atari 2600 from 40 years ago doesn’t make you a gamer.

you don't know me.

[ZenOps]

Don't make me bring up ranking #6 in the world in Unreal.

[killramos]

https://kotaku.com/sony-ps5-destiny-2-bungie-playstation-microsoft-xbox-ex-1848453326/amp

Well fuck

[Xtrema]

https://kotaku.com/sony-ps5-destiny-2-bungie-playstation-microsoft-xbox-ex-1848453326/amp

Well fuck

Both symbolic and ironic move?

[ThePenIsMightier]

Both symbolic and ironic move?

Like a traffic jam
When you're already late?

[rage2]

https://kotaku.com/sony-ps5-destiny-2-bungie-playstation-microsoft-xbox-ex-1848453326/amp

Well fuck
It’s just destiny right? I mean Halo was originally developed by them but Microsoft owns all the IP and took it on themselves?

edit - yup, only Destiny. What a weird history for Bungie. From wiki:


Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000, and its project Halo: Combat Evolved was repurposed as a launch title for Microsoft's Xbox console. Halo became the Xbox's "killer app", selling millions of copies and spawning the Halo franchise. On October 5, 2007, Bungie announced that it had split from Microsoft and become a privately held independent company, Bungie LLC, while Microsoft retained ownership of the Halo franchise intellectual property. It signed a ten-year publishing deal with Activision in April 2010. Their first project was the 2014 first-person shooter, Destiny, which was followed by Destiny 2 in 2017. In January 2019, Bungie announced it was ending this partnership, and would take over publishing for Destiny. In January 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced their intent to acquire Bungie as part of their family of studios, though Bungie would remain an independent and multi-platform studio and publisher.
Worked so hard to stay independent. Then just gets bought out for 1 game. Wonder if Sony just threw money in their face cuz they needed to do something.

[killramos]

It’s just destiny right? I mean Halo was originally developed by them but Microsoft owns all the IP and took it on themselves?

I like Destiny… lol

[rage2]

I like Destiny… lol
Why do you care? I assume you have both consoles? Or are you not middle class?

[Xtrema]

It’s just destiny right? I mean Halo was originally developed by them but Microsoft owns all the IP and took it on themselves?

$3.6B for 1 game, 38M subs, and $60M revenue. 313 employees say average of $150K a pop, that's $50M in wages alone.

Desperate move on Sony's part. But stock up 5% on the news, so they at least recover a bit.

[schocker]

Why do you care? I assume you have both consoles? Or are you not middle class?

:rofl:


$3.6B for 1 game, 38M subs, and $60M revenue. 313 employees say average of $150K a pop, that's $50M in wages alone.

Desperate move on Sony's part. But stock up 5% on the news, so they at least recover a bit.

Sounds like they are working on an additional game as well in a new universe. Seems like kind of a strange purchase but sony obviously knows more than me.

The Show 22 also coming Day one to gamepass which is developed by sony santa monica.

[killramos]

Why do you care? I assume you have both consoles? Or are you not middle class?

I don’t do playstation

Guess I don’t make it into middle class.

104252

[beecue]

Seems like they overpaid for Bungie. Looks like it was in the works for a few months and not a reaction to last week.

It would be hard for me to try another Bungie game though after playing Destiny 1.

[ThePenIsMightier]

I don’t do playstation

Guess I don’t make it into middle class.

104252

I mean, they are pretty expensive with the buyer's premiums, so... This adds up.

[dirtsniffer]

bought some atvi on the bungie news

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Destiny was the first game I played that had true cross-platform. As a PC player, I could party with, and voice chat with, friends from both Xbox and PS at the same time.