Microsoft To Buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion

[noctim2]

So Microsoft is going full Disney...

[Erous]

I think this is a win and I agree with Kotick's statement that this makes sense when compared to other options. Blizzard has mostly been a PC based gaming company and who better to partner with than Microsoft. I'm very curious what this means for gamepass and how subs and whatnot can work. I'm hopeful this is a positive change, but there is the very real possibility that it becomes a microtransaction circus.

[Skorpionss]

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

With what talent? Everyone that was worth anything already left.

[bloodykiller86]

Well, this is shit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHhY-lZyhjM

Microsoft is one of the worst companies to take over. They haven't produced anything good, just mediocre shit.

bro.....you really dont know how wrong you are right now

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

thats exactly what will happen. studios under MSFT work as independent units with infinite resources

[Bladesyphon]

It's bad because Microsoft needs to be broken up. They're basically trying to create a monopoly. Also, every company they buy, after the acquisition, only puts out, at best, generic trash. Look at Rare as an example. It's like a bad/mediocre at best soulless game factory.

But that said, Blizzard is SO BAD that not even Microsoft can possibly make them worse. It's like Bethesda in this regard, only even worse. I have no plans to ever play any Bethesda or Blizzard games in the future, so this doesn't really affect me.

The company might get better as far as sexual assault in the workplace, but I wouldn't expect the games to be any better.

People still unironically use Rare as an example of "Microsoft bad, they kill companies"?

Look, I loved Rare as a kid, they made fantastic games, as a kid. But even during their "Golden Era" on the N64, their games were starting to get questionable, we just never realized because were dumb kids. After Banjo-Kazooie, their 3D Platformers began to turn into extremely bloated, buggy games. We all have fond memories of DK64, I'm sure, but in reality the game was a complete mess. Banjo-Tooie, while not a bad game, basically overdid practically everything, bloating the game into a slog to play through. Star Fox Adventurers was rebranded from it's original Dinosaur Planet moniker because of how laughably similar it was to the Star Fox IP, and likely because Nintendo didn't think it was going to garner much attention otherwise. Also Blast Corps. The less said about Blast Corps, the better.

And of course there's Conker. Everyone loved Conker, because it was new, it was unique, it was naughty. Than when the game was remade near 1:1 on the Xbox several years later, people felt it wasn't that great. Why? Because when you take away the juvenile humor, what you're left with is a very bare bones, barely competent 3D platformer. Even when most of the original Rare team left Microsoft and founded Platonic Games to make Yooka-Laylee, the end result was a fairly average, meh game.

Rare was already beginning to collapse in on it's self - there's a reason why Nintendo didn't buy out the company instead of letting Microsft have it. Rare will always have memorable gems from our childhood, like DKC1-3, Banjo-Kazooie, and Goldeneye. But Rare was never an "OH MY GOD AMAZING COMPANY" that was smashed by Microsoft. It was an alright company, with a few good hits, that was already starting to become dated by the time Microsoft purchased them.

[Breccia]

"You get one free World of Warcraft for each Overwatch you purchase."
"No, thanks."
"What about two?"
"...fine, whatever."

[Awelon]

I wish this means that Sony will be cockblocked by Microsoft at the maximum possible content. Just because.

[Monteverdi]

Big fan of Microsoft, they've been firing on all cylinders for a while now. This is great news.

[Daedius]

Just heard this on the radio...

WoW on their console? :V

Or Microsoft only interested in Activision (CoD) and King (Candy Crush) IPs, and will dissolve Blizzard Studios...

[Vasilisa]

I wish this means that Sony will be cockblocked by Microsoft at the maximum possible content. Just because.

Why? Exclusives are bad for players unless you own pc and both consoles. Better solution would be if all games would be released for all platforms.

[klaps_05]

Doubt Microsoft cares much about some dead franchises blizzard has - COD and King are what they really bought.

[SoundOfGuns]

And fat, worthless dipshit Bobby Kotick still gets payed. Fuck off, Microsoft.

[Le Conceptuel]

Doubt Microsoft cares much about some dead franchises blizzard has - COD and King are what they really bought.

Precisely. This is surely their primary motivator. I'm not saying WoW may not get better as a result of the purchase, but it's not their primary interest.

[Vandosq]

Hearthstone is Blizzard's only game that is still making them money.

This is just so factually wrong by every metric. For Blizzard wow remains it's biggest earner, which is obvious. Subscription+game purchases+in game purchases adds up to far more than hearthstone ever will.

[Sughs]

"One more day of boring news... WTF???"

I think this can be good for WoW really.

[Encrow]

Are ..... are you dumb?

It's just another salty FF14 player.

[NED funded]

This blows my mind

Is COD going to be console exclusive now? Does this mean we are getting a console version of WoW?

[Akta]

LOL at people thinking microsoft spent 70 000 000 000 just for candy crash and cod.

[trollied]

We need a Clippy mount in-game, ASAP.

[Pandragon]

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

They did that with Minecraft afaik. They made the Windows 10 version, and largely left Mojang to work on the game.