Microsoft To Buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion

[Skildar]

If the plan is to include as many games as possible on the gamepass then I expect battlenet application to be terminated in the coming years

[Orby]

I feel like that was more likely -before- this purchase.

Activision would have gotten rid of the now tainted Blizzard name. The IPs would have been absorbed and possibly abandoned.

Now it's possible Microsoft cleans the company, moves some developers around, but keeps the game going. They may also just ditch the MMO and give Obsidian the Warcraft IP to do some RPG, which wouldn't be the worst thing ever either.

lol I would actually love that that actually. I would certainly come back to the game if they made a spin off PRG series based on Warcraft for sure.

[GreenJesus]

I been hearing some back and forth, some sources have said he still will serve another 2 years. Some have said he isn't leaving and another has said he is staying for as long as he is needed...

Either way he gets a huge buyout.

So confused lol

The deal doesn't go through until 2023. So that 2 years could be accurate if it's the tail end of 2023. I can't imagine $68 billion is an easy and fast acquisition.

[Relapses]

If the plan is to include as many games as possible on the gamepass then I expect battlenet application to be terminated in the coming years

The more likely scenario is that you'll be forced to buy Game Pass on top of the standard WoW subscription.

[Khaza-R]

I been hearing some back and forth, some sources have said he still will serve another 2 years. Some have said he isn't leaving and another has said he is staying for as long as he is needed...

Either way he gets a huge buyout.

So confused lol

Personally I can't imagine him staying after the deal goes through. Especially after the last year of drama with AVTI and the negative press it gave him.

[Izzyfurious]

Could be good, but MR. Psychopath Kotick is staying as CEO so nothing good.

https://twitter.com/DeItaone/status/1483493967912214532

For over 1 year more yeah, but after Their Estimated Date. He will finally be gone for good!

[Kathranis]

Nope. Cash.

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Not very good leverage lmao they paid 95/share. Their stock has like an all time high of 101 which was a year ago, pre-controversary.

I wish people wouldn't undersell how much a few percent actually is when you're talking about figures in the tens of billions.

The difference between 95 and 101 on a nearly $70b deal is close to the total value of Lucasfilm when Disney bought it.

[Selah]

I'm cautiously optimistic for this. It could very well be the answer to the problems WoW has been dealing with. The internal staff issues, the poor leadership, and the brain drain. Could also be a problem too. Just really depends on the vision Microsoft has for it.

[Ersula]

Not sure how credible. But very nice if true.

Unless of course the sexual harassment allegations were a psyop by microsoft to get the value of the company down as far as possible

[Otaka]

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.

Is it? youre forgetting Hearthstone is available on mobile... so it has significantly more users than WoW does and every user is a potential customer.

The new expansions and card packs almost guarantee income, while WoW is just losing players and barely has like 5 million players these days to begin with.

[arkanon]

Is it? youre forgetting Hearthstone is available on mobile... so it has significantly more users than WoW does and every user is a potential customer.

The new expansions and card packs almost guarantee income, while WoW is just losing players and barely has like 5 million players these days to begin with.

5 million? There are people who think wow still has 5million players? Jesus.........

[MoanaLisa]

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

No, I can't imagine that at all.

[Gadzooks]

Me seeing the news: "Huh".

I don't have a dog in the race anymore - don't have any Blizzard games installed, wasn't planning on it in the future - and nothing has changed with this news. Blizzard, regardless of who owns them, still needs to prove they can make games worth buying, and right now, that's a pretty bleak picture.

We'll see. I'm sure the next two years will be like this thread - some good commentary, and a metric buttload of pure manure and copium. What else is new?

BUT - it's absolutely more entertaining than Blizzard's games, at the moment. So they have that going for them.

There are questions, though. They bought a company with an ongoing lawsuit by the state of California, a union on the edge of materializing, a brain drain, and a game that has become more lucrative to complain about, than actually play, by the media and influencers. I'd love to be in the meetings when that's all discussed.

What will happen? Dunno. But this new season of As Blizzard Burns is looking to be quite spicy. Who will stay on? Who will quit because they don't want to work for Microsoft? What will they do?

Tune in and find out! Woo! Something new to talk about is good, bitching about that hack Danuser was getting boring!

[Mojo03]

I think it’s good news.

I’d rather have Microsoft in charge, than Activision. Phil does a good job and Xbox has been on the up and up for a while now.

If anything, it means stuff will be on Game Pass in some capacity.

And more will be done with the IPs, which is also a good thing.

So Im actually optimistic about it and the company for the first time in a really long time.

It’s not final until June 2023, so it’ll be a while.

We’ll see.

[Gadzooks]

Unless of course the sexual harassment allegations were a psyop by microsoft to get the value of the company down as far as possible

Yeah...I kind of doubt Microsoft has that kind of power, to get the State Of California to start a lawsuit over events that stretch back to a decade ago. I mean, that's Jailer level of 52D chess right there.

[GreenJesus]

5 million? There are people who think wow still has 5million players? Jesus.........

Vanilla Classic is dead, TBC was a flopping potato, and shadowlands is in freefall. I just can't see how there could be 5 million.

[arkanon]

The more likely scenario is that you'll be forced to buy Game Pass on top of the standard WoW subscription.

Game pass is never mandatory. In wows case, it would remove the box price, but the sub would remain. Since you are so confused, I will say it again - gamepass is not mandatory - you can purchase the games outright.

[ExtremelyCrusty]

Fire Bobby, Ion, and that shitty "Lore" lead

[Relapses]

Game pass is never mandatory. In wows case, it would remove the box price, but the sub would remain. Since you are so confused, I will say it again - gamepass is not mandatory - you can purchase the games outright.

Buddy, I know it's not mandatory. But it is more profitable than box sales which is precisely why I could see them bundling the WoW subscription in as a new higher "tier" of Game Pass. The games industry is slowly turning into what the cable industry has already proven to be a viable business model.

[Ersula]

Yeah...I kind of doubt Microsoft has that kind of power, to get the State Of California to start a lawsuit over events that stretch back to a decade ago. I mean, that's Jailer level of 52D chess right there.

You're saying a state government cannot be influenced by a billion dollar worldwide company? Have you even heard of capitalism before?