Microsoft To Buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion

[Ihavewaffles]

This is the final nail in the coffin...

[Chilela]

Did NOT expect to wake up to this news today. I have very little faith in MS, especially given some of Spencer's views on game community management, in particular, wanting cross-platform bans to be a thing. Wouldn't put it past them to find new and interesting ways to nickel and dime the ActiBlizz communities. Nothing to say of Microsoft pushing closer into monopoly territory in the games industry.

Also, this very well could be the final nail in Blizzcon's coffin. I could see MS using the E3 timeslot for Blizz announcements now. Though that's probably more of a reach than anything else.

Microsoft literally couldn't do worse than has already been done in WoW the last several years, so I see this as great news.

You say that now, but only time will tell.

[Ragedaug]

Oh God didn't even think about that

Minecraft still uses their own launcher and it took Microsoft several years to push it to be integrated to log in with the user's MS account. So I don't expect the Blizzard game launcher to go anywhere.

[Enter Name Here]

i dont think that bnet accounts/the launcher will be merged into the xbox app, because the bethesda stuff hasnt been merged (yet?) and i'd imagine it to be an IT nightmare to pull that off.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

I suppose if you have a ton of overlap it would be worth keeping it separate but my understanding of paid subscription numbers is that the WoW market is at an all time low. There are 'whales' that keep buying tokens and shop cosmetics but a lot of your hardcore players use in game gold to keep playing. Honestly, I don't have the demographics to break down a cost benefit analysis... so all of this is based on supposition and hearsay.

As of the last quarter report subs are better then most modern expans at the same point in life, they are still making millions and not at an all time low.

[Yadryonych]

i dont think that bnet accounts/the launcher will be merged into the xbox app, because the bethesda stuff hasnt been merged (yet?) and i'd imagine it to be an IT nightmare to pull that off.

Minecraft accounts are currently being merged, and it's the game second only to Tetris in numbers of sold copies

[Ganksinatra]

I laugh every time I see MS gobble up another studio. If anything says "we have no faith in our own studio's skills" like needing to buy up every major publisher to entice people to buy your garbage console more than this, I don't know what does.

This is like the rich, douchebag kid in high school. He has a few friends that hang around because of what his name empowers him with, but otherwise, they would bail too. He sees all the kids eating at a popular restaurant, so in his warped mind, he knows how he is gonna get more popular. He has mommy and daddy buy the restaurant, and then only allows his "friends" to eat there.

AKA: If you have to buy out every major studio in an attempt to starve out Sony and Nintendo, you're not showing how strong your console is. You're showing how afraid of them you are.

Also, if any of the other studios being snapped up are any indication, be ready for already slipping standards to slip MUCH lower. Employees working on Starfield were told there would be no more delays, that they have a "fiscal quarter to help". That is how we ended up w WoW now during Acti. It will be much worse, and every game will have a crappy Xbox port. Oh, and good luck finding console matches of OW2 or the next CoD. No one wants to play against PC people on a console (better m/kb controls, option to cheat), so you'll have a whole one console to match with now.

[Clawsout]

"Sorry bois the next xpacs gunna be a xbox only exclusive to push the numbers" could you fucking imagine its as bad as do you all have phones stick

[Sinfelle]

For anyone thinking this will have a change on development with the game (i.e. story, systems, gameplay) it most likely won't. It'll still be Blizz fucking up and doing what they have been doing. That's just not how these acquisitions work.

Now what will trickle down to WoW (and all other IP's), is Microsoft's QC policy. It's company wide. NOTHING is released without going through their QC layers. This was a policy implemented by their lawyers after security flaws with Windows some time ago.

So while we may be getting more polished patches with less bugs (doesn't mean the gameplay will be good, just less buggy), it will take significantly longer to receive these patches. Like the time from 9.0 to 9.1 may be the new standard.

Maybe they get some new developers in there, more staff, new management......who knows? But we are most certainly entering long patch cycles.

That's why Windows 11 has been in developer mode for over a year.

[Grimbold21]

People thinking this will change things. It might very do so, but by the time we get to see such change, we've likely had 2 more filler expansions and hardly anyone wants to play wow

[epigramx]

Why are those deals happening in secret? Don't they want the best deal?

[clickerflipper]

Old Actiblizz upper management win in the short term. On paper they are great value play. 30% Net Profit. Obviously Microsoft sees immense value here as well. Their stock jumped 30% on a killer red opening day, giving players another stock exit point.

Selling is the best option at the moment. The only thing they trade is future profit kinda like the disney lucas purchase.

[Ihavewaffles]

just what the blizz franchises need...to be bought up by a giant soulless company...

[Enter Name Here]

Minecraft accounts are currently being merged, and it's the game second only to Tetris in numbers of sold copies

thanks for the info

[clickerflipper]

Old Actiblizz upper management win in the short term. On paper they are great value play. 30% Net Profit. Obviously Microsoft sees immense value here as well. Their stock jumped 30% during a red opening day for most everybody else, giving players another stock exit point.

Kotick selling is the best option at the moment. The only thing they trade is future profit kinda like the disney lucas purchase.

[Sorshen]

Mike is awake.

[vilememory]

I laugh every time I see MS gobble up another studio. If anything says "we have no faith in our own studio's skills" like needing to buy up every major publisher to entice people to buy your garbage console more than this, I don't know what does.

It is simply the Disney approach to things now, infinite growth. Buy everything to keep growing, it is unsustainable but it is the only method of business that people believe in now. If you aren't perpetually growing you are dying.

[Clawsout]

While you at it take all his yachts

[KevyB]

18.01.22

That's the date blizzard finally died huh, bit bland.

[EyelessCrow]

This was probably planned since the events of Warcraft 3.