Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard King for $69 Billion on 2023-10-13

Disputed Activision CEO Bobby Kotick might earn $375 million as a result of the Microsoft deal (guru3d.com)
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, quite possibly receives a $375 million bonus if the company's sale to Microsoft is completed. The game publisher is best known for the Call of Duty series, but has recently been in the press for misogyny and workplace misbehavior. Kotick would have been aware of it.
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Activision believes that firing Kotick would cost up to $265 million. The CEO owns roughly 400,000 shares of the company.

Microsoft reportedly reached out to Activision to provide support during a tough period and to address concerns about the game publisher's treatment of women. Microsoft would also have signaled an interest in acquisitions during those meetings.
 
What is interesting about Sony's cash on hand number is that a year before it was $44bn. Sony had a good year with nothing to explain this disparity
from reddit
From Resetera: The $45 billion included "Marketable Securities" from Sony Financial (roughly ~$26 billion). Sony switched from GAAP to IFRS, so the ~$26 billion is no longer considered "Marketable Securities" under the new accounting methodology (it is now listed as "Investments and advances in the Financial Services segment"). Thus, when these services looked at Sony's financials, they went from adding "Cash and Cash Equivalents" + "Marketable Securities" to just "Cash and Cash Equivalents."
 
Isn't it? How is that cash up or ongoing calculated?
Games on game pass sell more in terms of what? You dont buy the games. You buy a subscription. Those are things I d like to see answered in detail.

Games phase out or don't contain DLCs and people buy them afterwards because they want to continue. Maybe they also include limited F2P games like Destiny in that calculation.
 

So basically MS's so call "support" for what was going on was to buy the company and reward him wrapped around some PR talk.
I mean it's to be expected. Bobby owns those stocks. He would get paid out a huge sum no matter who bought them or if he stayed teh course for years to bring the stock back up.

And you know what , I bet in 2-3 years he will start a new studio
 
He'll buy some mobile game studio for sure.

Yea most likely. He will come back in some capacity as soon as all this blows over. People easily forget and in the next few years I am sure there will be more fires in the gaming world over other people. He will come back to a small company or create his own and no one will say anything or there will be some small articles and a small fart of out rage on twitter.
 
M
The game is afoot
iroboto vs dsoup

Current price
Microsoft 303.33 USD
Sony 13,135 JPY

edit: nintendo 54,780 JPY might as well add the dark horse

Lets check back in a month and see who made the better investment
month? The deal won’t even be ratified by then. These are long term moves that set MS up many years out from now. I’m looking at 8-12 years for there to be good return here.
 
Microsoft doesn't even need Call of Duty to be as big as Activision needed it to be. Just like how Halo was the main attraction to Xbox for a long time. Now the Master Chief is a highly celebrated co-star, but not the featured attraction. I saw this today

FJaeEBAWQAQvPoo


This image looks fake but this collage is real man, it's real and still, everything that there is to offer from these studios isn't on this image. Content being the games. People will go where the games are. The onslaught starts next year, 2023. Yes, Forza and Starfield will maintain the fort this year. Next year is where it gets crazy.

Not fake but not from Microsoft either...



However, evidently Microsoft likes them too..


Tommy McClain
 
There's also the last Sega financial reports where they mention Microsoft GamePass and how it has helped increase the Yaakuza IP then how they plan to do the same for other IPs. There's been some slide deck images posted around from it too.

https://www.segasammy.co.jp/english...ment/2022/managementmtg_script_20211224_e.pdf

Here's something I wasn't expecting to see. Sales for the PC only Total War series is significantly higher than the multiplatform Yakuza series (includes the spin off Judgement and Lost Judgement). Warhammer did a lot to increase sales for Total War globally while Three Kingdoms massively helped the series grow in Asia.

Also, they are forming a strategic alliance with MS. Interesting.

Recently, we made an announcement “Notice regarding the agreement between SEGA and Microsoft to Explore Strategic Alliance”.

Under the policy of adopting advanced and superior technologies other of companies aggressively, Microsoft was also interested in SEGA's strategy and gave us the offer to work together, so we are now in the process of discussing the specifics.

Sega and MS have worked together quite frequently.

Also a new title in the Yakuza series is in development (YES!).

Regards,
SB
 
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I wonder if this unexpected acquisition now slightly put off other acquisitions. I know that MS can work on multiple things at once like Nuance and Bethesda. But if they are in talk for another big acquisition, this unexpected one - and it literally unexpected - can delay others (if they are big on the level of WB) due to possible investigations.

So basically MS's so call "support" for what was going on was to buy the company and reward him wrapped around some PR talk.
Kotick would leave with $$$ one way or another. MS just made it so he would leave faster.
 
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OK, this is "probably" not where MS is going to go with this, but ...

What if part of the reason for the acquisition was for MS to have a starting base (King) for "Game Pass Mobile". At that point Game Pass would encompass games on console, PC and mobile.

Thinking further, we know that Apple is in many ways a strategic competitor to MS and they have a subscription gaming service on mobile (Apple Arcade).

It kind of makes some sense that part of this acquisition might be about MS bringing Game Pass to mobile games.

It also makes me wonder if MS were talking to Zynga about a possible acquisition as well, but Take-Two obviously snatched that one up.

Regards,
SB
 
OK, this is "probably" not where MS is going to go with this, but ...

What if part of the reason for the acquisition was for MS to have a starting base (King) for "Game Pass Mobile". At that point Game Pass would encompass games on console, PC and mobile.

Thinking further, we know that Apple is in many ways a strategic competitor to MS and they have a subscription gaming service on mobile (Apple Arcade).

It kind of makes some sense that part of this acquisition might be about MS bringing Game Pass to mobile games.

It also makes me wonder if MS were talking to Zynga about a possible acquisition as well, but Take-Two obviously snatched that one up.

Regards,
SB

You talking about an apple arcade competitor ? I mean its possible but I think its a bit harder since they don't really have a mobile phone store. So they would have to just release content onto other platforms ?
 
You talking about an apple arcade competitor ? I mean its possible but I think its a bit harder since they don't really have a mobile phone store. So they would have to just release content onto other platforms ?

Sure, good luck getting it onto iOS devices just like good luck getting Game Pass onto PlayStation consoles. But there are ways to get it onto Android devices.

Regards,
SB
 
What if part of the reason for the acquisition was for MS to have a starting base (King) for "Game Pass Mobile". At that point Game Pass would encompass games on console, PC and mobile.
I believe it was just unexpected opportunity that gives MS foothold immediately in mobile market with King that has 200m+ monthly players (and 400m for Activision overall). I do wonder what was their plan if such opportunity did not exist. They could possible go after Take 2?
And also ACTI solidifies PC foothold. If they fix WoW, Overwatch, Warcraft and bring back Starcraft. Oh boy.

Still it is interesting how Satya - I believe - mentioned metaverse in his statement. I wonder if it was a way to justify this big acquisition.
 
Still it is interesting how Satya - I believe - mentioned metaverse in his statement. I wonder if it was a way to justify such big acquisition for stakeholders. Because - let's be honest there - 70b acquisition is huge.

That's what I felt. Mention the nonsense thing investors don't want to miss out on to distract from the thing they understand poorly. :)
 
Just thinking about it some more, I think the most exciting thing for me, personally, is the prospect of ...

Potentially no extra launchers on PC for Activsion games and Blizzard games (if the acquisition goes through we no longer have to call it Activision-Blizzard) and that we'll see them on Steam. I always found it an inconvenience having to start up the Battle.net launcher in order to play my Blizzard games. That combined with the rot that had set in within Blizzard meant that I haven't played any of my Blizzard games in over 2 years now.

Also, some streamers that I watch are current and former StarCraft professional players (many of which are mostly playing AoE IV now). They're quite excited by MS acquiring Activision-Blizzard because Blizzard have basically been treating StarCraft 2 like crap the past couple of years.

Regards,
SB
 
That's what I felt. Mention the nonsense thing investors don't want to miss out on to distract from the thing they understand poorly. :)
Investor calls are gonna be interesting :mrgreen:

Potentially no extra launchers on PC for Activsion games and Blizzard games (if the acquisition goes through we no longer have to call it Activision-Blizzard) and that we'll see them on Steam. I
No more Bethesda launcher, not sure about Battle.net launcher (or whatever it is called) as I think it is quite big

Also, some streamers that I watch are current and former StarCraft professional players (many of which are mostly playing AoE IV now). They're quite excited by MS acquiring Activision-Blizzard because Blizzard have basically been treating StarCraft 2 like crap the past couple of years.
Also common notion among WoW players. This acquisition also gives a huge foothold in e-sports now. Before we had only Sony with EVO, but now MS can become a viable alternative - and they have their own infrastructure.
 
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