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  1. #1
    Fluffy Kitten Stoy's Avatar
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    Microsoft To Buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion

    Microsoft To Buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion
    In quite the surprise this morning, Microsoft has announced it is set to purchase Activision Blizzard for 68.7 billion dollars.

    Update: Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is expected to leave after the deal closes.






    Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
    Welcoming the Incredible Teams and Legendary Franchises of Activision Blizzard to Microsoft Gaming

    Creators of Call of Duty, Warcraft, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot, StarCraft and more join Team Xbox

    As a team, we are on a mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. We all know that gaming is the most vibrant and dynamic form of entertainment worldwide and we’ve experienced the power of social connection and friendship that gaming makes possible.

    As we pursue that mission, it is incredibly exciting to announce that Microsoft has agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard.

    Over many decades, the studios and teams that make up Activision Blizzard have earned vast wellsprings of joy and respect from billions of people all over the world. We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented, dedicated people across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and every team across Activision Blizzard.

    Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.

    Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog. We also announced today that Game Pass now has more than 25 million subscribers. As always, we look forward to continuing to add more value and more great games to Game Pass.

    The fantastic franchises across Activision Blizzard will also accelerate our plans for Cloud Gaming, allowing more people in more places around the world to participate in the Xbox community using phones, tablets, laptops and other devices you already own. Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward.

    As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.

    Around the world, there is no more exciting venue for fun and connection than video games. And there has never been a better time to play than right now. As we extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone, we look forward to welcoming all of our friends at Activision Blizzard to Microsoft Gaming.
    Last edited by Lumy; 2022-01-19 at 04:20 PM.

  2. #2
    Bought for 17.5x the amount Disney paid Lucas to buy Star Wars, holy crap

    I wonder what Microsoft's aim is at here. Blizzard's productivity has dropped off the face of the earth over the last decade. Hearthstone is Blizzard's only game that is still making them money. All of their other projects are either stuck in development hell (D4, OW2, Diablo Immortal, whatever the incubation unit is working on) or is in actual maintenance mode (D3, Starcraft 2, HotS, OW1). Blizzard as a game studio has completely broken down and I doubt Microsoft will fix that. I'm guessing Microsoft is either after what Activision has, and/or the Blizzard IPs so they can license the IPs to competent studios.

  3. #3
    Second. Heres hoping for wow classic + xD

  4. #4
    I am Murloc! Maljinwo's Avatar
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    "When asked about Xbox's relationship with Activision Blizzard, Spencer reiterated how he was "saddened and sickened" by the alleged toxicity inside the company. The allegations forced Xbox to change aspects of its working relationship with Activision Blizzard"

    So they bought it

  5. #5
    Likely paying them in stocks.

  6. #6
    I guess maybe the silver lining here is that maybe, hopefully, WoW gets an Xbox port, which means maybe we'll get controller support in the style of FFXIV's controller support. Yoshi-P said he didn't patent their cross hotbar configuration because he hoped that other MMOs would utilize it.

    Or maybe Microsoft sees WoW as a sinking ship and cares for the other goodies in this buy, like Call of Duty.

  7. #7
    Here's hoping Microsoft sever Blizzard from the rest of that entity and allow them to work autonomously again. Can you imagine!
    RETH

  8. #8
    Hey I hope the wow subscription is included in the xbox pass.
    Or even better: We can buy all microsoft products with wow gold, how much do I need to save for some Surface?

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Val the Moofia Boss View Post
    Bought for 17.5x the amount Disney paid Lucas to buy Star Wars, holy crap

    I wonder what Microsoft's aim is at here. Blizzard's productivity has dropped off the face of the earth over the last decade. Hearthstone is Blizzard's only game that is still making them money. All of their other projects are either stuck in development hell (D4, OW2, Diablo Immortal, whatever the incubation unit is working on) or is in actual maintenance mode (D3, Starcraft 2, HotS, OW1). Blizzard as a game studio has completely broken down and I doubt Microsoft will fix that. I'm guessing Microsoft is either after what Activision has, and/or the Blizzard IPs so they can license the IPs to competent studios.
    My guess, a purge of the sex pests, mass-hiring or swapping from existing teams in Microsoft, and attempting to right the ship.

    Unrelated but worth mentioning, we have confirmation Bobby is going to remain the lead of the company until at least 2024, likely due to his pre-existing contracts, but after that Phil Spencer is taking over completely, and it remains to be seen if Kotick will stay with the company after that.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Val the Moofia Boss View Post
    Bought for 17.5x the amount Disney paid Lucas to buy Star Wars, holy crap

    I wonder what Microsoft's aim is at here. Blizzard's productivity has dropped off the face of the earth over the last decade. Hearthstone is Blizzard's only game that is still making them money. All of their other projects are either stuck in development hell (D4, OW2, Diablo Immortal, whatever the incubation unit is working on) or is in actual maintenance mode (D3, Starcraft 2, HotS, OW1). Blizzard as a game studio has completely broken down and I doubt Microsoft will fix that. I'm guessing Microsoft is either after what Activision has, and/or the Blizzard IPs so they can license the IPs to competent studios.
    If you have to wonder, then you're not very knowledgeable in regards to why Activation Blizzard is valued at $68 billion, so should probably not bother to ramble about the developers at Blizzard not being "productive".

  11. #11
    The Unstoppable Force
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maljinwo View Post
    "When asked about Xbox's relationship with Activision Blizzard, Spencer reiterated how he was "saddened and sickened" by the alleged toxicity inside the company. The allegations forced Xbox to change aspects of its working relationship with Activision Blizzard"

    So they bought it


    Well that's one way of fixing said "sad and sickening"-issue I suppose.

    Amazing sig, done by mighty Lokann

  12. #12
    Scarab Lord Razorice's Avatar
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    Could be good, but MR. Psychopath Kotick is staying as CEO so nothing good.

  13. #13
    Old God Kathranis's Avatar
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    According to Reuters, Bobby Kotick will stay on as CEO.
    So same shit, just under the Microsoft umbrella.

    I guess Microsoft was able to use the bad press, lawsuits, and departing/striking workers as leverage in negotiations.

  14. #14
    I have extremely bad feelings about this. Activision burried Blizzard really deep...and I feel like Microsoft is going to bang the final nail in its cofin.

  15. #15
    Elemental Lord
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    well this is some pretty massive news. Can only be a good thing I guess

  16. #16
    The Unstoppable Force Elim Garak's Avatar
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    Wow on game pass no subscription - you heard it here first

  17. #17
    WoW on Xbox confirmed?

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Crushima View Post
    If you have to wonder, then you're not very knowledgeable in regards to why Activation Blizzard is valued at $68 billion, so should probably not bother to ramble about the developers at Blizzard not being "productive".
    They're valued because of Activision and Hearthstone. Diablo 2 was a blip but it does not have microtransaction legs like CoD and Hearthstone do. Nothing else in Blizzard's portfolio raked in enough money to be noted in their latest financial report.

  19. #19
    I think this is good news. Devs owned by microsoft make some good shit.

  20. #20
    Wonder if they'll wrap WoW subscriptions into PC Game Pass

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