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

[Deleted member 11852]

This is an actual mix of legislation and technological barriers.

 

[eastmen]

Contrary to what others (mostly those with invested interest) are stating, CMA/UK approval is needed and can't be circumvented in the current regulatory agreement between the major markets (i.e., US, EU, and the UK). Sure Microsoft and their lawyers will try, but as I see it, this acquisition is dead without the CMA's approval.

We will just have to see what the finish line looks like.

 

[stu11]

Lets not pretend that this is a Microsoft exclusive problem. EA, the Activision, and the Ubisoft have all had plenty of HR controversies regarding toxic workplaces, plenty of flops and games stuck in development hell. Every time Ubisoft shows Skull and Bones it's a different game! Beyond Good and Evil 2 has a sorted history involving HR issues and development problems?

This isn't to excuse anything that Microsoft employees have done, just to demonstrate that this isn't an exclusive problem to some sort of mismanagement by Microsoft. It happens everywhere in the industry. Both because people are trash, and because making games is hard.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall ever claiming that this is exclusive to Microsoft and no one else. It's well known that many game publishers and developers have had HR and workplace issues. Naughty Dog has had problems with burn out due to the huge number of hours their staff are expected to put in towards the end of development on their games. God of War Ragnarok was delayed and the fans started hurling abuse at SIE Santa Monica.
The very fact that we are here in this thread talking about this is because Activision has been mismanaged and their management is apparently rotten to the core and is getting sued for it
The facts of the matter are that Microsoft have been repeatedly accused of failing to adequately manage their studios and it has hurt them with regards to filling out their roster of games. Also, if they are having issues with managing the studios they currently have, then what will happen when they have to manage Activision as well?

Also, let's be really fair: They are making Sea of Thieves and have 30 million players. It's not like they're mismanaged too badly if they have a live service game with 30 million players. Sony can't claim anything like that.

These narratives get tired. IMO MS doesn't need ABK, but it will help fill in the gaps nicely for them.

Yes and it is great that Sea of Thieves is finally doing well. Its a far cry from the average game that it was at first, receiving grades of 67%. Also Sony hasn't really released any live service games yet.

I'm glad you're having fun tho.

Don't be surprised if one of the reasons that MS acquired or wanted to acquire ABK was to cease operations for 343i and move Halo to one of the COD development teams. Either that or to merge one of the COD dev teams into 343i or have one of the COD teams work in conjunction with 343i on Halo.

343i has shown that while they've gotten better at making a Halo game (Halo: Infinite is, pun intended, infinitely better than Halo 4 and 5) they still aren't up to where Bungie was WRT making Halo games.

That's left a relatively large pothole in what was formerly one of their strengths. They've got Gears which is still strong but is a 3rd person shooter and they've got Halo, their 1st person shooter, sort of just limping along right now.

Hell, who knows, maybe they'll task the Blizzard Overwatch team with creating a Halo MMO shooter?

Regards,
SB

Apparently there's nothing wrong with Halo and 343i, all fake news. LOL

 

[BRiT]

Here's a timeline chart for #Microsoft-#ActivisionBlizzard from @CMAgovUK ruling to @FTC trial. Click on image to enlarge.

My previous timeline charts ended with the EU deadline tomorrow. The chart shows there's been a flurry of activity since the #CMA's irrational decision. I will update the chart to reflect new events or (re)scheduling decisions. There may very well be merger approvals from a few more jurisdictions in the weeks ahead.

Explanations: private lawsuit = #Sony-supported class-action lawyers' lawsuit in the Northern District of California (often mislabeled as gamers' lawsuit) PI = preliminary injunction TRO = temporary restraining order

This is the rationale for the "window for potential TRO":

If Microsoft at some point announced that it would proceed to closing the deal, the #FTC would immediately run to a federal district court and seek a TRO, which could be granted the same day without a hearing. Presumably the FTC already has such a motion in its files and updates it as new information (further decisions etc.) so requires.

Should the TRO motion be put before a judge who is not yet familiar with the case, there is a risk of the TRO being entered (possibly even with Microsoft's consent) just so the court has more time to decide on whether to grant a PI. After two weeks, a TRO must be replaced with a PI or it ceases to have effect. TRO decisions are more often merits-agnostic than PI decisions.

Sometimes parties also stipulate to a TRO just to give the court a couple of weeks. I don't believe the FTC is entitled to a TRO, but it would be difficult for a judge to form an opinion on the (lack of) merits within a few hours. In light of Independence Day, the process may have to be triggered in late June so a potential TRO would expire just before the contractual closing date. That's just my personal thinking as a long-time U.S. litigation watcher.

In the Meta-Within case, the FTC's motion for an extension of a stipulated TRO was denied (and the deal closed immediately thereafter), but the judge was already familiar with the matter.

I expect the next four weeks to be pretty eventful, but then things may really heat up as the question will be whether to close before the current deadline or extend the merger agreement.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660194594452123648

 

[BRiT]

PC Games from Xbox Headed to Boosteroid Customers June 1​

We’re continuing to deliver on our promise to bring high-quality, immersive PC games from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda to more people in more ways. Today, we’re announcing that Deathloop, Gears 5, Grounded and Pentiment will be available to play for Boosteroid members beginning June 1. This is another step to ensure players worldwide have access to great content on their terms.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660631890515349511

PC Games from Xbox Headed to Boosteroid Customers June 1 - Xbox Wire

We’re continuing to deliver on our promise to bring high-quality, immersive PC games from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda to more people in more ways. Today, we’re announcing that Deathloop, Gears 5, Grounded and Pentiment will be available to play for Boosteroid members beginning June 1. This is...

news.xbox.com

 

[iroboto]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660631890515349511

PC Games from Xbox Headed to Boosteroid Customers June 1 - Xbox Wire

We’re continuing to deliver on our promise to bring high-quality, immersive PC games from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda to more people in more ways. Today, we’re announcing that Deathloop, Gears 5, Grounded and Pentiment will be available to play for Boosteroid members beginning June 1. This is...

news.xbox.com

Massive. Glad to see it

 

[SmooTh]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660650609295474688

 

[stu11]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660650609295474688

Yes Microsoft has a very cosy relationship with China.

Moreover, the company last year came under scrutiny for its work with a Chinese military-operated university. Three papers published between March and November were co-written by academics from both the Microsoft Research Asia and those connected to China's National University of Defense Technology, which is domineered by China's leading military wing, the Central Military Commission. The Financial Times pointed out that one of the papers depicted a new AI modality "to recreate detailed environmental maps by analyzing human faces, which experts say could have clear applications for surveillance and censorship."

 

[arandomguy]

I feel that seems like reach as Microsoft also deals with the UK government and for sure has a more "cosy" relationship with the US government (not to mention MS being a US company vs Sony being foreign), both of which seem to be the most in opposition.

Let's face it, despite the UK CMA's cloud gaming rationale, the main opposition and concern for this deal is with Sony and the console gaming market, neither of which likely matter to China.

 

[Shortbread]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660194594452123648

The more tweets that I see from him, the more I have to wonder if this is a classic case of shilling for a corporation. He really doesn't like counterarguments to his views, or actual UK Lawyers/Solicitors/Barristers pointing out his often flawed logic pertaining to UK/CMA laws, regulations, and governing.

 

[Nesh]

The more tweets that I see from him, the more I have to wonder if this is a classic case of shilling for a corporation. He really doesn't like counterarguments to his views, or actual UK Lawyers/Solicitors/Barristers pointing out his often flawed logic pertaining to UK/CMA laws, regulations, and governing.

Because thats exactly what he is

 

[Deleted member 11852]

The more tweets that I see from him, the more I have to wonder if this is a classic case of shilling for a corporation.

I am surprised that more people are not aware of Florian Müller's complex interests. Whilst he presents himself as being a proponent of open source and against-patents, he was less keen on being transparent on him acting as a paid consultant for both Microsoft and Oracle. I've noticed he also exhibits a strong anti-Google bias in his editorial/opinion pieces.

Unbiased he most definitely is not, whilst presenting as a proponent of open source principles and transparency, he has lobbied for patents on Microsoft's behalf. You have to look quite a long way past Mr Müller's activities to take his opinion on anything Microsoft-related seriously.

 

[Shortbread]

Microsoft defeats gamers' bid to block $69 bln Activision deal in US court

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco federal court said in a ruling issued late on Friday night that the video gamers had not shown they would be "irreparably harmed" if the merger were allowed to proceed before she rules on the merits of their case.

Corley pushed back on the gamers' allegation that Microsoft would limit availability of the game. The judge said there was no evidence Microsoft could make current versions of "Call of Duty" stop working after the planned merger, Corley wrote.

"The day after the merger they can play exactly the same way they played with their friends before the merger," Corley wrote. The judge also said "it is not likely" Microsoft will make any newer version of "Call of Duty" exclusive to the company's platform prior to a ruling on the merits of the deal.

A lawyer for the gamers said on Monday they will press on with their challenge to the deal despite losing this preliminary round.

Gamers? You mean, of the PlayStation kind?

 

[BRiT]

We are delivering on our commitments to bring PC games from Xbox to cloud gaming providers, starting with @NVIDIAGFN
last week and @Boosteroid_main June 1. We look forward to bringing Activision Blizzard games to these millions of players around the world once the deal closes.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660992735653003264

 

[fehu]

At the end of this acquisition, the Xbox division will still exist, or will just be a cloud provider?

 

[BRiT]

At the end of this acquisition, the Xbox division will still exist, or will just be a cloud provider?

Same as today.

 

[see colon]

At the end of this acquisition, the Xbox division will still exist, or will just be a cloud provider?

They'll be like Atari, where they just license their IP out and we get streaming and clone systems. AT Games manufactured Xbox is on the horizon!

 

[Silent_Buddha]

They'll be like Atari, where they just license their IP out and we get streaming and clone systems. AT Games manufactured Xbox is on the horizon!

Oooh a new Xbox that looks like an Atari 2600? I might actually buy that.

Bonus if it officially includes an Atari 2600 emulator.

Regards,
SB

 

[eastmen]

Same as today.

If the merger doesn't go through this may be the last generation MS puts out a console. If the merger goes through we will see at least one more console generation from them.

 

[Shortbread]

If the merger doesn't go through this may be the last generation MS puts out a console.

I don't think so. If Game Pass is making as much money as Microsoft claims it is, then the following generations of Xbox gaming should be fine. And nothing against Phil, but he may want to pass along the leadership baton to another individual as he seems defeated.

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