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

[iroboto]

Microsoft are back-peddling like crazy at this point. if I was Sony, I'd hold out to see what Microsoft would offer next. It just looks desperate at this point.

But as has been stated already, Sony isn't control of any of these regulatory processors. They are now under their own legal inertia.

I mean, they still get what they want however, which is Game Pass and therefore Xcloud. It may have been the last concession needed to get this through. And all the other developer teams and blizzard IPs.

They should give up CoD. Fuck it. It could be dead as soon as they complete the purchase.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

They should give up CoD. Fuck it. It could be dead as soon as they complete the purchase.

Most people will have forgotten but back in January - which feels like an age ago now! - there was credible reporting via Bloomberg that Microsoft would shake-up the Call of Duty yearly release cadence and make changes. Which is the one change that I felt made no sense given Microsoft surely want a more regular drip-feed of new content into GamePass.

 

[SmooTh]

They need to make this into a movie when its all said and done. its a wild ride

 

[eastmen]

View attachment 7775

Lol that is amazing . They can cast the actor from True Blood to play Phil

 

[eastmen]

Most people will have forgotten but back in January - which feels like an age ago now! - there was credible reporting via Bloomberg that Microsoft would shake-up the Call of Duty yearly release cadence and make changes. Which is the one change that I felt made no sense given Microsoft surely want a more regular drip-feed of new content into GamePass.

Didn't one of the recent CODs do pretty bad for a cod game ? I think that is where the rumors came from.

I don't know if its a bad idea for one year to just have quarterly content drops for the previous year title and give all the teams an extra year of development. I don't think it would hurt anything and of course if they do enter the MS fold , MS has a ton of shooters now so missing a year release wouldn't be the end of the world. Like what if in one year MS drops Wolfienstein and Gears and delays COD ? don't know if its the end of the world for MS.

 

[cheapchips]

Most people will have forgotten but back in January - which feels like an age ago now! - there was credible reporting via Bloomberg that Microsoft would shake-up the Call of Duty yearly release cadence and make changes. Which is the one change that I felt made no sense given Microsoft surely want a more regular drip-feed of new content into GamePass.

Well, it makes sense when you consider that MS are experts at postponing games. The thought of annual releases probably gives them vertigo.

 

[Nesh]

Didn't one of the recent CODs do pretty bad for a cod game ? I think that is where the rumors came from.

I don't know if its a bad idea for one year to just have quarterly content drops for the previous year title and give all the teams an extra year of development. I don't think it would hurt anything and of course if they do enter the MS fold , MS has a ton of shooters now so missing a year release wouldn't be the end of the world. Like what if in one year MS drops Wolfienstein and Gears and delays COD ? don't know if its the end of the world for MS.

Modern Warfare 2 becomes fastest selling Call of Duty game ever, surpassing Black Ops 2

Modern Warfare 2 has had the most successful Call of Duty launch ever, breaking both sales and player count records.

www.charlieintel.com

 

[Dr. Nick]

Paywalled article:

Microsoft’s Call of Duty Offer to Sony to Include Subscription

In a bid to win regulatory approval for its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc., Microsoft Corp. has offered rival Sony Group Corp. the right to sell Activision blockbuster Call of Duty as part of its gaming subscription service.

news.bloomberglaw.com

Looks like MS included to let CoD on PS+ as well for a price which is fair.
That's a lot of safe measures.

What price would that be? I thought it would be a poison pill but it is looking like they are willing to go that far to get this deal done. Microsoft should still make bank after everything is said and done though.

 

[iroboto]

What price would that be? I thought it would be a poison pill but it is looking like they are willing to go that far to get this deal done. Microsoft should still make bank after everything is said and done though.

Not sure. This was all done before FTC made their decision last week.

So this isn’t a new concession they added after being denied; this was part of the deal that Sony denied.

Basically I assume if Sony accepted it the deal would go through without a delay. If Sony declines it, the FTC is currently doing what we see now.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I don't think the FTC cares what Sony thinks. They're just fanatically opposed to big acquisitions.

 

[eastmen]

What price would that be? I thought it would be a poison pill but it is looking like they are willing to go that far to get this deal done. Microsoft should still make bank after everything is said and done though.

I don't think MS cares about call of duty. If they have to serve that up as the sacrifice I doubt they care , they will cry into all the money it brings in. I think its all the franchises and games Activision has that no one is talking about that they want exclusive on xbox consoles and to come to game pass. WOW / Diablo / Hearthstone , Starcraft and then they can reboot stuff like Guitar hero and skylanders

Not sure. This was all done before FTC made their decision last week.

So this isn’t a new concession they added after being denied; this was part of the deal that Sony denied.

Basically I assume if Sony accepted it the deal would go through without a delay. If Sony declines it, the FTC is currently doing what we see now.

I don't think the FTC cares what Sony thinks. They're just fanatically opposed to big acquisitions.

At this point it matters more if it's approved in the other countries. Whle I think the FTC will try to take this to court they wont win and if every other country approves it they will have even less of a chance. But we will see

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I don't think the FTC cares what Sony thinks. They're just fanatically opposed to big acquisitions.

And it feels this a mindset that the EU are rapidly drifting towards. The regulators role is to listen to competitors concern's, dismiss the bullshit, then make their decision according the criteria for their assessment. It feels like there is an unwritten 'biotech-is-too-big' aspect to this which as I said before, I think will be the biggest hurdle for getting EU and US approval.

The general disposition against big tech companies getting bigger.

 

[iroboto]

I don't think the FTC cares what Sony thinks. They're just fanatically opposed to big acquisitions.

Agreed

At this point it matters more if it's approved in the other countries. Whle I think the FTC will try to take this to court they wont win and if every other country approves it they will have even less of a chance. But we will see

I think if they can’t find a good reason to block it, they will find a way to just keep the merger from happening for years until the companies give up.

 

[mr magoo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1602421159043239937

 

[iroboto]

Basically no concessions will keep the FTC from trying to block the merger. Other regulators may feel this way as well. The FTC will not win in court, so they will find a way to lock this merger up forever and basically just burn time away until ABK or MS give up.

This deal is done unless they find a way to actually speed this process up.

 

[eastmen]

Agreed

I think if they can’t find a good reason to block it, they will find a way to just keep the merger from happening for years until the companies give up.

I don't think there is a way for them to do that. They would have to go to a real court at some point. I actually wonder if MS would be able bring the FTC to court

 

[Shifty Geezer]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1602421159043239937

If Sony accepts a deal, does that change anything regards the regulators concerns? I wouldn't have thought so seeing as there's more at play here than just Sony. So I can't help but feel this COD news is all about PR while the real considerations are going on under the radar (where they should if you want real justice and not trial by public).

 

[tuna]

But Steam itself is a vector for profits is what I'm saying.
For MS the future is xcloud, I don't think they're going to get very far strong arming tiny markets like Steam Deck.

Steam (and Proton etc) could bring the downfall of Windows in the gaming space. Why would you buy a Windows license if you don't have to?

 

[iroboto]

Steam (and Proton etc) could bring the downfall of Windows in the gaming space. Why would you buy a Windows license if you don't have to?

Yes. Because I do more with my computer than just games. And Linux isn’t anywhere comparable to MacOS in terms of usability. I’ll definitely take windows over Linux and spool up containers or VMs of Linux from there.

Why go Linux native?

 

[eastmen]

Steam (and Proton etc) could bring the downfall of Windows in the gaming space. Why would you buy a Windows license if you don't have to?

Well 1 ) Who has bought a windows license in the last decade + ? if you bought windows 8 you can just keep using that code through windows 11 so far. I don't think microsoft cares about home users buying licensees. That is more for corporations

2) Most people will continue to game with windows because they know how it works and there is a wider level of support vs proton. I enjoy my steam deck but there are a lot of issues introduced by proton. I have marvel midnight suns and it works perfectly on my windows pc but crashes after the tutorial on my steam deck.