Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard for $69 Billion, NICE! Possibly Completes 2022-07 to 2023-06

Maybe I misunderstand, but are you suggesting that Microsoft should use some profits to cover other losses because they are using their own resources at below the market cost had they provided those to external customers? Because they does not seem sustainable or profitable.

Unless you can persuade more and more Xbox customers to buy things that are grossly profitable.

 

Honestly, I just hope they let some of these studios make something brand new. I'd like to see both Activision and Blizzard start making some new stuff instead of cranking out sequels. Take one of the cod studios and make an exclusive. Let blizzard make some new games and make them exclusive. COD25, Diablo7 are not interesting./

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/call-duty-going-xbox-exclusive-heres-what-we-know

Is Call of Duty going Xbox exclusive? Here's what we know.

Call of Duty isn't disappearing for PlayStation users overnight.

It wont happen just like that, but i can see a future where it might happen though.


DF video on the matter

 

What loses ? are you suggesting that operating costs are far greater than profit they are making from selling games and providing online services?

 

The words Microsoft use today about Activision/Blizzard exclusives is the same PR words Microsoft used for Bethesda, up until the deal closes there's not much they can speak on the matter.

 

The acquisitions have equity aside from their revenue, what will the value of Activision and all of their IP be in 10 years? It doesn't need to earn them x profit in any amount of years if the equity increases and the enterprise is profitable they are still ahead of having 70billion in the bank earning them almost nothing.

 

Right, and we know what happened with Bethesda games... (starfield). Activion is IMO one of the largest out there, Bethesda is one, but Activision i never expected. Aside from Rockstar then, wonder if MS has even considered that one?

 

You may be proven correct. Neither possibility would surprise me.

 

IMHO game designers have a limited window to execute their vision and be successful. These original Blizzard people are most likely all beyond that window anyway.

 

Sony will bend the knee and allow game pass as a service on their platforms by next gen. That’s the end game here: games as a monthly recurring service, platform agnostic.

 

why would microsoft even care about sony at that point.

Sony is a small fish. Microsoft wants the people who used to buy a console but don't anymore cause they have surfaces and ipads and phones they keep updating. They want someone to go oh wow call of duty , world of warcraft , doom , elder scrolls and halo all streaming to my devices for x amount of money a month . I don't have to buy a new console ! let me subscribe to this .

 

Can I have a modern River Raid with real iron-on patches & Battlezone III or a remake of the original 1998 game?

Tommy McClain

 

That’s the point. They don’t care about Sony itself. What they do care is that yet another platform is willing to offer their service which in turn gives the service more appeal and accelerated growth.

 

But at a cost.

Sony will want a % of the revenue from game pass. At that point Sony may just have to allow it through their browser and microsoft wont have to give up any money.

 

I agree for 3-4 years but *if* COD remains such sales factor it being for free on gamepass might change the whole market momentum. We've seen how the exclusive PS4 deals with CoD/Destiny pushed the PS4 sales back in 2013++.

If GamePass becomes the defacto Netflix for games I wouldn't be surprised at all if CoD+co. will only be available on GamePass at some time and then Sony is forced to offer the service on their consoles.

P.S. I don't really care for CoD.

 

7 pages in under 12 hours?!? SEVEN PAGES?!?

That's all I need to know this is a big horking deal.

 

The future of GamePass game development:

1. Design 100% of a game
2. Chop off 40% of the game to be the release version
3. Add frustrating mechanics and time wasting to the original concept
4. Sell solutions to problems made in #3 as microtransactions
5. Sell the remaining 40% of the game over the next 1-2 years in the form of season passes and DLC
6. Profit

 

Its one of the biggest news ever in gaming. And I d say extremely negative for the industry in my book.
Such acquisitions should have been halted by antitrust laws.
We can spin it anywhere we want. Like how Blizzard/Activision will fix themselves or how awesome gamepass will be. At the end for the sake of 3 companies and a selection of games that define third party support, we use blindfolds to ignore that it accumulates too much in the hands of few and destroys competition.
It doesnt give resources to small talented studios. It only absords established developers who supported everyone to support just a selection of platforms.

 

I'm glad Microsoft has made this move, this acquisition. Sony has been coasting on mediocre game services, poor to average BC updates, unfriendly game return policies, and pumping more money into gimmicks that don't necessarily translate into better gaming. Microsoft needs to keep acquiring publishers and put the fire under Sony's ass to do better.

 

Congratulations, you're more of a skeptic than I am.

IMO, the future of Game Pass:

• A few expensive (time and money) to develop tentpole (say 1-3) exclusive AAA games a year to make news and get people to really want to get on the service.
  • The hook to get people to join GP.
• That is then supported by a spread of lower budget (time and money) AA to low AAA exclusives set to release ~1 a month.
  • Titles for people to discover while on GP
  • With how many dev studios that are now under MS's umbrella they might even be able to manage ~2 a month.
• Then the service is filled out by good indie and AA 3rd party games that may launch day and date on Game Pass with their general release on other platforms.
  • That mystery rush of discovering some gem a subscriber has never considered before.
  • Generally bite sized gaming experiences although some may be longer.
• And finally throw in some older AAA titles from other 3rd parties.
  • For the core gamers that turn their nose up at indie titles.
• Sprinkle through with a few multiplayer GAAS titles.
  • For the game-a-holics that need to be constantly getting some form of reward constantly.
  • The ones you posted about.

Basically, a service that has a broad spectrum of games to appeal to all types of gamers as well as potentially turning them into fans of gaming genres they'd never considered in the past due to the barrier of having to buy games in a genre they didn't think they were interested in.

Regards,
SB