Microsoft buy Activision-Blizzard for $68.7B

Teebling wrote: 3 years ago

@Selexin yo

So guys what are we agreeing on here:

Blizzsoft or Microblizz

Hey @Teebling long time no chat

Microblizz works on a couple of levels based on the prevalence of microtransactions these days. Blizzsoft sounds.... wrong haha.

Selexin wrote: 3 years ago

annoynimous wrote: 3 years ago

Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard.

this line alone makes the deal worthless.

For clarity:

Bobby Kotick, Activision’s longtime CEO, is expected to leave after the deal closes, according to people familiar with those plans. Microsoft had said in its announcement Tuesday that Mr. Kotick “will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard,” and that after the deal closes “the Activision Blizzard business will report to Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer. ” But the companies have agreed that he will depart once the deal closes, the people said.

Hope this brings you some optimism.

deal closes the earliest in mid 2023 T_T, entire 2022 still ruined.

annoynimous wrote: 3 years ago

entire 2022 still ruined.

That's the Spirit haha

Selexin wrote: 3 years ago

annoynimous wrote: 3 years ago

Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard.

this line alone makes the deal worthless.

For clarity:

Bobby Kotick, Activision’s longtime CEO, is expected to leave after the deal closes, according to people familiar with those plans. Microsoft had said in its announcement Tuesday that Mr. Kotick “will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard,” and that after the deal closes “the Activision Blizzard business will report to Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer. ” But the companies have agreed that he will depart once the deal closes, the people said.

Hope this brings you some optimism.

Both information are from the same source, which has been updated since yesterday.

Yep, confirms that he will continue as CEO of the Activision/Blizzard arm during the ownership transition phase, which may going into mid 2023.

I remember thinking Microsoft was going to run Minecraft into the Ground after they bought Mojang. Surprisingly, I never even think of Minecraft as a Microsoft property. I haven't played the game in a long time, but from a distance it seems like they were respectful with that franchise.

Beardozer wrote: 3 years ago

from a distance it seems like they were respectful with that franchise.

But not with the creator.

Trang Oul wrote: 3 years ago

Beardozer wrote: 3 years ago

from a distance it seems like they were respectful with that franchise.

But not with the creator.

RE: Why Microsoft didn't invite him to the 10year anniversary event:

His statements range from being critical of "Minecraft" to supportive of conspiracy theorists. In some instances, he's made offensive statements about trans people. In other instances, he's said things like, "If you're still on the left, PLEASE wake up. You are evil."

It doesn't sound like he was a saint, and certainly not an ideal ambassador for Microsoft. Business is business at the end of the day, and having a loose canon acting as an ambassador for your multi-million dollar product isn't great business acumen.

I don't know the whole story, but from this article alone it seems like Microsoft probably made the right decision.

Selexin wrote: 3 years ago

It doesn't sound like he was a saint, and certainly not an ideal ambassador for Microsoft. Business is business at the end of the day, and having a loose canon acting as an ambassador for your multi-million dollar product isn't great business acumen.

I don't know the whole story, but from this article alone it seems like Microsoft probably made the right decision.

You're right - they bought Minecraft, made it a business and disposed of the author when they did not need him anymore. As an author, Notch deserved some respect, especially on such a major event.

I don't trust Microsoft for a huge number of reasons, so I'm not surprised. I wasn't aware they kicked Notch to the curb like that. At least from a product perspective however, it does seem like the game itself has been treated respectfully, and that's all I hope for the warcraft and diablo franchises.

I still believe Microsoft is better for Blizzard than Activision itself when it took over...

Trang Oul wrote: 3 years ago

You're right - they bought Minecraft, made it a business and disposed of the author when they did not need him anymore. As an author, Notch deserved some respect, especially on such a major event.

I agree, but there reaches a point where you can't risk your own investment just to appease the original creator, who don't forget was paid $2.5billion for the rights to the game. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Just because he made it, doesn't mean he has the right to sell it to someone, shit on the game publicly, and then expect a red carpet laid out for his glorious arrival. Imagine if he got on stage and spoke poorly of Microsoft's handling of the game? That's a sticky situation neither party would want to be in.

Perhaps the whole thing with Bobby Kotick will solve itself, since his contract runs out in march 2023, so I heard. I doubt that Microsoft will extend his contract. But untill then it will be an end with horror but not an endless one, I hope.

Man, what a turn of events. I am hopeful that Microsoft's sponsorship will foster a culture of excellence in Activision/Blizzard, and of course, my favorite game company of all time, Bethesda. I've reflected recently on the decline of amazing games which have been produced by Bethesda over the past few years... I understand, being a developer, that over time we tend to lose the Passion we once had for creating amazing software (and rightly so, after all, when all is said and done and you've done a good work, should you not be allowed to rest in your success?) My selfish hope is that this isn't the case for the

Key producers in Activision/Blizzard/Bethesda. Maybe the acquisition will provide them the resources and structure they need to get back in the ring swinging again!

Daydreamer1290 wrote: 3 years ago

Perhaps the whole thing with Bobby Kotick will solve itself, since his contract runs out in march 2023, so I heard. I doubt that Microsoft will extend his contract. But untill then it will be an end with horror but not an endless one, I hope.

it won't bring back Mike Morhaime and the rest of the crew back, unless Phil Spencer starts doing his rounds getting back everyone, which I will call that a miracle.

annoynimous wrote: 3 years ago

Daydreamer1290 wrote: 3 years ago

Perhaps the whole thing with Bobby Kotick will solve itself, since his contract runs out in march 2023, so I heard. I doubt that Microsoft will extend his contract. But untill then it will be an end with horror but not an endless one, I hope.

it won't bring back Mike Morhaime and the rest of the crew back, unless Phil Spencer starts doing his rounds getting back everyone, which I will call that a miracle.

You are right about that, but I believe that an improved environement with more appreciation of the work and the people will lead to a new beginning to start over. The former core team of blizzard moved on. I only hope that there will be new developers that will continue this awsome Diablo series.

Maybe Microsoft can give us an update with some new unique items...

dilbert383 wrote: 3 years ago

Maybe Microsoft can give us an update with some new unique items...

lol, and that's the crux of it. I don't give a shit who owns blizzard, all I care about is if the games are any good. So we'll see in due time. I hope we get more Classic Wow development, continued D2R development, a good D4 release... That's my only benchmark here.

Teebling wrote: 3 years ago

Breaking news: it has been reported that Microsoft are acquiring Activision Blizzard for a price of $68.7 billion dollars.

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said on Tuesday it would buy "Call of Duty"videogame maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) for $68.7 billion in cash, the largest deal in the sector making the Xbox maker the third-largest gaming company by revenue.

Microsoft's offer of $95 per share is at a premium of 45% to Activision's Friday close. Shares of Activision were up nearly 38% at $65.39 before being halted for news.

Microsoft Studios made sick games, let's not forget that. This could be a new chapter in Blizzard's long history. I'm actually quite excited.

Thoughts on how this will affect Diablo 2, WoW, etc.?

I agree. microsoft games didn't disappoint, the numero uno for me was "freelancer". such a great game with great mods.

I think that if they actually have a say on the games, they will actually give more freedom.