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

[iroboto]

View attachment 8878

thanks for the post, I knew I read this somewhere, just couldn't figure out where.

 

[Shortbread]

Activision also...

Activision sees a future in streaming and cloud-based gaming…just not yet

Rumour suggests that Microsoft isn’t just working on one next gen console, but two. The first will be the traditional console, packed with the hardware capable of running games, while the other will apparently be more of a set-top box that’ll run games from the cloud. During the investor’s...

www.criticalhit.net

“Over the long term, we think that cloud-based gaming and streaming is a very strong positive for the industry and particularly for us,” says Activision COO Cody Johnson. “It should ultimately accelerate growth in an already growing industry.”

First, it has the potential to significantly increase the reach of our big-screen experiences to audiences that don’t have a console, and in some cases don’t have a PC depending on the streaming system you’re talking about.

And second, even for existing gamers, streaming systems should be able to provide more easily accessible experiences, reducing friction, enabling deeper ongoing engagement throughout the day as the content is more available.

And third, we think we are particularly well-placed to take advantage of streaming and cloud-based gaming when it comes. We’ve deep and strong franchises that certainly benefit from exposure to broader audiences. We have vibrant player communities looking right now for additional ways to access the franchises that they love. As a company that creates our content and owns our IPs, and the best IP in gaming, we think, we’re well-position to take advantage of any associated economics that the streaming platforms may bring to bear.”

Let's be honest, Activision is just spouting whatever needs to be said in the moment, especially when 60B is at stake.

 

[eastmen]

Activision also...

Activision sees a future in streaming and cloud-based gaming…just not yet

Rumour suggests that Microsoft isn’t just working on one next gen console, but two. The first will be the traditional console, packed with the hardware capable of running games, while the other will apparently be more of a set-top box that’ll run games from the cloud. During the investor’s...

www.criticalhit.net

Let's be honest, Activision is just spouting whatever needs to be said in the moment, especially when 60B is at stake.

Activision is saying right now streaming doesn't matter because there are no users. In the far off future cloud gaming might be worth while because we can just put all of our wow players and diablo players on fire sticks or apple tvs or even their own cobbled together stick for $20-50 bucks and not have to worry about keeping wow working on 15-20 year old desktops or old laptops that people never want to upgrade.

 

[iroboto]

Boosteroid: There's No Evidence of Activision Games Joining the Cloud Any Time Soon; CMA Is Slowing Innovation

We talked with Boosteroid, one of the cloud gaming platforms that signed a 10-year deal with Microsoft, about the CMA's block of the AB merger

wccftech.com

I've contacted Boosteroid's Head of Strategic Communications Antonina Batova to petition for a comment on this topic. You can find her official response below.

Antonina Batova: We have no evidence as to that Activision is going to start providing games to cloud platforms in the near future. On the contrary, the cloud gaming community knows that Activision has quite a harsh standing on cloud gaming, which only confirms that most likely they are not going to be available on cloud gaming services in the near future. In theory it is, of course, possible that their strategy has changed, but we have no information about that and would not speculate.

Also, the CMA's ruling is likely to do the contrary to what they are claiming - slowing the innovation and development of cloud gaming by cutting out the Activision's audience from cloud gaming services. The situation where this content is widely available in the cloud has clear benefits to the market, the competition and most importantly, to the end customers who would then be able to play high-end Activision games on almost any device regardless of its processing power or OS.

 

[iceberg187]

Looks like Microsoft has hired the real life version of Phoenix Wright to fight this.

Microsoft hires Brussels-beating lawyer to take on Britain’s competition watchdog

Microsoft has hired a lawyer who has repeatedly defeated the EU as it seeks to overturn a decision by Britain’s competition regulator to block its £55bn gaming takeover.

finance.yahoo.com

Microsoft has hired a lawyer who has repeatedly defeated the EU as it seeks to overturn a decision by Britain’s competition regulator to block its £55bn gaming takeover.

The US tech giant has enlisted Daniel Beard KC as it prepares to lodge an appeal at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the coming days.

The company hopes a legal challenge will rescue its $69bn (£55bn) takeover of Activision, the gaming company behind Call of Duty, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal last month.

Mr Beard of Monckton Chambers is seen as a leading competition barrister and has overturned multi-billion dollar penalties levied on Apple and Intel by the EU in recent years.

He represented Apple in an appeal against a €13bn (£11.4bn) EU tax demand after Margrethe Vestager, the bloc's competition chief, declared Ireland had offered it illegal state aid. Apple won the appeal, though Ms Vestager is now seeking to reinstate the order.

Last year, Mr Beard overturned a €1.1bn fine handed to Intel more than a decade ago after the European Commission had claimed the company had abused its dominance of the microchip market. The case was seen as a landmark blow for Brussels’ attempts to rein in Big Tech.

Mr Beard had represented Microsoft in the late stages of hearings with the CMA, before the regulator blocked the takeover in April.

The CMA’s decision, the first major acquisition it has rejected since assuming new merger powers after Brexit, led to accusations from Activision that Britain was “closed for business”. Microsoft said the decision meant that the EU was a better place to set up a company than the UK.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

It's pretty simple: CMA is trying to block because of future "Cloud power", which is a bullshit reason. Everyone knows it, not withstanding some MS haters trying to make out like that's a legit reason. It's ridiculous. Cloud is .000001% of gaming. They may as well block the deal because of an impending Martian invasion.

 

[wco81]

Well some court will decide whether it's a bullshit reason.

Fanboys may not like it but it's going to be decided by courts and politics.

Either that or boycott the UK market.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

It's a bullshit reason, but courts and politics will decide things. On that we can agree.

 

[Nesh]

It's pretty simple: CMA is trying to block because of future "Cloud power", which is a bullshit reason. Everyone knows it, not withstanding some MS haters trying to make out like that's a legit reason. It's ridiculous. Cloud is .000001% of gaming. They may as well block the deal because of an impending Martian invasion.

Of course it is nothing now. But I dont think they are basing it on what it is now. They are taking precautionary measures for what they expect it to become.
MS communicated this themselves. Purchasing a $69Billion company using Cloud as a justification which is only .000001% is either telling of what MS expects Cloud gaming to transform into in the future, or they are trying to hide the true reasoning, which is to get exclusive content to their platforms, or its both.
For such a small fraction of a market which is cloud, both the reasoning for and against sound illogical for the present. Barely anyone is using cloud therefore the benefits for the market communicated by those in support are almost non existent as well.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

It's a bullshit reason, but courts and politics will decide things. On that we can agree.

And yet Microsoft have invested tens of billions of dollars globally because they believe in the future of cloud. Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia all believe that the cloud is going to be massive. They see gold in them their hills.

 

[Nesh]

And yet Microsoft have invested tens of billions of dollars globally because they believe in the future of cloud. Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia all believe that the cloud is going to be massive. They see gold in them their hills.

Exactly

 

[Nisaaru]

And yet Microsoft have invested tens of billions of dollars globally because they believe in the future of cloud. Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia all believe that the cloud is going to be massive. They see gold in them their hills.

That there could be bigger reasons doesn't cross your mind at all?

Any huge company with a lot liquid capital these days would be primarily concerned about how to secure it. Buying as many assets as possible before SHTF(hyper inflation, currency reset or worse) could be the driving force behind this.

It would at least explain to me why somebody would spend that much money on Activision.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It's pretty simple: CMA is trying to block because of future "Cloud power", which is a bullshit reason. Everyone knows it, not withstanding some MS haters trying to make out like that's a legit reason. It's ridiculous. Cloud is .000001% of gaming. They may as well block the deal because of an impending Martian invasion.

They did the same with the BBC video streaming. Blocked it in its infancy as they feared the BBC would have too strong an advantage and not allow the market to grow with other players. Basically handed that market to Netflix.

 

[nutball]

It would at least explain to me why somebody would spend that much money on Activision

MS have something of a track record of panic-buying companies for way too much money. That's another possibility.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That there could be bigger reasons doesn't cross your mind at all?

No. MS have said they believe in the cloud, they are pushing the cloud, they want gaming on every device, etc. Game streaming is clearly part of their long-term goals and something they are betting big on.

 

[iroboto]

No. MS have said they believe in the cloud, they are pushing the cloud, they want gaming on every device, etc. Game streaming is clearly part of their long-term goals and something they are betting big on.

I’m sure it’s a little bigger than cloud gaming.
But that’s even further out there

 

[Nisaaru]

No. MS have said they believe in the cloud, they are pushing the cloud, they want gaming on every device, etc. Game streaming is clearly part of their long-term goals and something they are betting big on.

Obviously they wouldn't throw money away into something they don't believe has no worth. But I don't think in the current situation they aren't so much focussed on ROI but buying assets which are *available*.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

That there could be bigger reasons doesn't cross your mind at all? Any huge company with a lot liquid capital these days would be primarily concerned about how to secure it. Buying as many assets as possible before SHTF(hyper inflation, currency reset or worse) could be the driving force behind this.

Stock buybacks are the hot thing now, it's tax deductible and you can re-liquify easily, unlike heavily investing in a bunch of fixed-function infrastructure. I don't know anything who would want to buy unwanted Microsoft's server infrastructure, do you?

You can't just throw money any anything. It's got to have long-term appeal down the line.

 

[Chandler55]

They did the same with the BBC video streaming. Blocked it in its infancy as they feared the BBC would have too strong an advantage and not allow the market to grow with other players. Basically handed that market to Netflix.

do you have more information on this? I couldnt find anything on google because all the search results is about the activision case lol

 

[BRiT]

Whoops!

Sony's lawyers scrambling today to get some of their info sealed from public view, after some apparent paperwork mishaps in the gamer lawsuit to block the Activision-Microsoft deal (none of the info PlayStation had provided was made public yet)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1655685106261020673