https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/01/18/welcoming-activision-blizzard-to-microsoft-gaming/
QuoteCreators 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.
Just saw that. :wacko:
I, for one, welcome our new Microsoft overlords.
They already have Bethesda, now they just need to buy EA/Bioware to have all major games of genres I like. :D
They could just take Bioware off EA's hands. :)
It says something about what a terrible and loathsome company Activision Blizzard is that I view this as a good thing. When Microsoft are the good guys you know you suck. At least Nintendo any Sony are basically guaranteed to always be their competition in the gaming market so we don't have to fret too much about this budding monopoly.
They spend 69 billion dollars on this. The military budget of Russia is 61 billion. :wacko:
Well maybe Russia should feel more nervous about Microsoft's fleet of drones piloted by elite gamers destroying their country than NATO.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 18, 2022, 01:42:42 PM
They spend 69 billion dollars on this. The military budget of Russia is 61 billion. :wacko:
Yea...lol
:huh:
QuoteThe military budget of Russia is 61 billion.
Maybe Ukraine has nothing to worry about after all... :hmm:
I'd be worried about more Call of Duties.
What's the status of lawsuits against the company?
MSFT figured out a while ago that subscription based delivery is the future of entertainment content and has been busy locking up content for their service. They have been losing the console battle to Sony but winning the gaming war.
Also 69 billion is an extraordiary valuation. That's like investment bank territory.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 21, 2022, 10:06:48 AM
MSFT figured out a while ago that subscription based delivery is the future of entertainment content and has been busy locking up content for their service. They have been losing the console battle to Sony but winning the gaming war.
Also 69 billion is an extraordiary valuation. That's like investment bank territory.
Not only entertainment. All software base technology. Visual Studio & Office are subscriptions too. Their cloud infrastructure. Windows (if you need enough copies) has been for a more than a decade.
Quote from: Grey Fox on January 21, 2022, 10:53:20 AM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on January 21, 2022, 10:06:48 AM
MSFT figured out a while ago that subscription based delivery is the future of entertainment content and has been busy locking up content for their service. They have been losing the console battle to Sony but winning the gaming war.
Also 69 billion is an extraordiary valuation. That's like investment bank territory.
Not only entertainment. All software base technology. Visual Studio & Office are subscriptions too. Their cloud infrastructure. Windows (if you need enough copies) has been for a more than a decade.
Oh yeah but SaS in the business environment is completely established by now, as is the subscription model in music and video. Gaming is late to the party because streaming capabilities have only recently caught up to the necessary requirements. But with Moore's Law still in effect (or close enough) it seems a foregone conclusion.
They'll take Paradox next.