Sad times for everyone that still believed in antitrust.
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Honestly I’m okay with this one, but it’s mostly because Activision Blizzard has great IP with some seriously awful management … and Microsoft actually has been doing much better in that department for games.
Yeah… In practice, every time a company gets anything that even slightly resembles a captured market, they stop investing in quality and starting shafting consumers.
Make no mistake, that is Microsoft’s end game. And that’s why they’re buying Blizzard.
Luckily, Activision Blizzard already stopped investing in quality and started shafting customers quite a while back, so worst case scenario (in this particular case, your criticism is still valid for most others) nothing changes, best case scenario Microsoft actually cleans house and the market becomes slightly less anti-consumer with one of the worst offenders gone…
Microsoft even with Activision Blizzard would not have a captured market. Valve, Crytek, Sony (which now holds Bungie), Epic, Electronic Arts, CD Projekt Red, Take-Two, and Ubisoft are all still quite potent AAA capable studio just in the PC space … along with tons of independent studios (e.g., Ghost Ship Games, Shiro Games, Hello Games, Re-Logic).
The Microsoft internal doc leak said they’re mostly after King Games (mobile games) anyways. I’d wager at worst Microsoft will let the traditionally Activision & Blizzard studios do their things… at best they’ll clean up the executive teams and let the devs “play” a bit more with the IPs.
Mojang has flourished under Microsoft.
343 sucked under MS. Bethesda’s been underwhelming. Rare, meh. Lionhead, meh. Obsidian, meh.
Playground has been good, same with Doublefine. Ninja had Senua, which was good.
Pretty much a coin flip I’d say, but helped by the fact Blizzard has stunk out loud in recent years…change might be good.
The enshitification of Mojang has begun. Ridiculous privacy policies and bans in singleplayer. And the biggest introduction under MS was the engine rewrite, which was already underway when they were acquired.
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I mean, it’s had plenty of success with its own IP… Heard of Starfield? Minecraft … and it’s nth successful Spinoff? Forza Horizon 5? Sea of Thieves? Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition? Age of Empires IV? Age of Empires XYZ DE? Fallout 76?
The only major “flop” I can think of that wasn’t corrected (at least so far) is Halo Infinite and … that largely seems to be a 343 issue. There’s also Redfall, but that was a new IP in an over saturated space … it’s not like they’ve stopped developing IPs, fixing games, and trying new things.
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Go look at Fallout 76’s reviews, it was unpopular at launch (IIRC) but it’s doing very well now … and that’s the point, they kept the lights on until the majority of players were happy.
Minecraft has had several games derived from it, that were entirely different games set in the Minecraft universe.
Microsoft bought Bethesda 3 years ago. To say that they had no ability to influence and/or didn’t take a risk on Starfield is … lazy at best.
And yes, they own Redfall as well, time will tell if they fix that one or it’s just a straight up failure.
You still believed?
Trust = one or more independent organizations making secret agreements to mutual benefit.
Mergers: not a trust.
Monopoly = a single organization that controls an overwhelming amount of the market.
Microsoft buying a publisher that put out 2 games in 2023: not a monopoly.
How many times do they have to buy that 2 game publisher before they reach a monopoly?
How many of the last 10 games you bought were from Microsoft?
How many games game out this year? Thousands. There is absolutely zero possibility that MS or anyone else is anywhere near holding monopoly status on the production of entertainment software. Even if they bought EVERYTHING new creators would enter the space the very next day.
Meh. A competitive monopoly has a better outcome than the near monopoly PS4 got when it came to exclusives. Yeah a lot of existing IP will be for one or the other. But for third party studios, they will be much less likely to make exclusive games if the console market is more balanced between the two. Nintendo is kind of in a world of its own. And with the steam deck helping push PC into a base level standard, I think we might see some opening up of high quality third party stuff.
Activision Blizzard has become such a huge pile of disgusting shit that people are quite tempted to see what would happen if the devil Microsoft buys it.
What a time to be alive
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I’m just happy to potentially see Bobby Kotick, Ion Hazzikostas, Mike Ybarra, etc ousted.
Don’t get me wrong. Fifteen years ago I would have flipped if Microsoft put in a bid to buy Vivendi and get their paws on Blizzard, after seeing how badly they ruined Rare. Activision tanked the brand so bad that I’m actually rooting for Microsoft.
I don’t think Kotick is at all certain to be kicked out. As easily as I can see MS letting him go with an enormous golden parachute, I can just as easily imagine them keeping him onboard because all they care about is Activision’s ability to make money.
In all likelihood Blizzard isn’t going to be managed any differently. Microsoft’s modus operandi with gaming acquisitions is to leave the leadership in place and let the dev/publisher run itself. Why is everyone expecting different here? The most likely outcome is MS does nothing to Blizzard and Blizzard continues on more or less the same trajectory as before.
Absolutely nothing.
Now: “Don’t worry! Call of Duty will remain on the Playstation! We have a 10-year agreement!”
Next week: “leaked: internal memo, Microsoft renaming to Call of Doods, to be Xbox exclusive”
Anyone who still cares about CoD to the point where this is a concern is probably not an adult.
children are people, too.
Barely
Are they though? Children have very little autonomy and human rights. They’re essentially property of their parents.
Anyone dismissing CoD because “I’m an adult and too cool for Call of Duty” should really question how mature they actually are.
The sad thing was that CoD Mobile was the last decent game in the series. Just think about that for a moment: a freaking cell phone game is better than any CoD title to come out on actual gaming systems in practically a decade.
Compare the power of your average phone today to the 360
I agree that it’s probably mostly children / teens that play those games, but I’m sure a non-insignificant portion of their player base is the type of person who is A-OK with listening to nothing but pop music.
Nothing inherently wrong with that, but they are either afraid of trying something new or they aren’t interested in discovering what they may end up enjoying more than the same derivative time-wasters.
CoD is mostly an adult game because it was popular with kids back 10-15 years ago
It’s Minecraft and Fortnite that kids play
Minecraft first released 15 years ago, call of duty modern warfare was 17 years ago.
The “games that kids play” very rapidly becomes “games that adults play”
Coming soon to a Microshaft GameBox™ near you!
Call of Dookie: Modern Shartfare™
Yep.
Ugh, I hate these giant corporations gobbling each other up.
One good thing to come of this (hopefully) is the chance to clear the C Suite people from AKB. I hope all of the AKB employees get what they deserve, which is a new set of higher ups that aren’t sexist dickbags.
That’s true, tolerating sexual assault is one of the few things dangerous to them.
Why do you assume the higher-ups will be gone? Bethesda’s C level seems unchanged
Bethesda’s C level doesn’t threaten to seriously damage Microsoft’s image. ActiBlizz’s C level tolerated and encouraged sexual assault.
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Encouraged may not be the right word, but they allegedly knew and not only didn’t not care, but tried to hide issues from the board of directors. Plus the CEO literally threatened to kill his assistant.
I would say willfully and deliberately turning a blind eye and making sure there are no negative consequences, letting him get what he wants from it is encouragement
Those c suite folks are about to make mega bank. This liquidity event will let them cash out all their stock options. I have experienced it.
Exactly what I’m hoping for.
That’s literally the only reason I’m supportive of this. Super mega corporate mergers are usually bad for consumers, but those fuckwits are so much worse.
AKB
What’s that K for?
King, who makes candy crush and other mobile games
I thought King was a subsidiary, rather than part of the parent company’s name. Has that changed?
King
There goes the competition.
Can someone recommend a good indie game? Better spent money than feeding these vampires.
Haven’t touched factorio but played Rimworld. If you value your time don’t buy rimworld, it is the most addictive game I’ve ever played. It’s a great game don’t get me wrong but I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and played it for less than 3 hrs. You just get sucked in like a void.
Well let’s just say Factorio is known as “cracktorio” for a reason.
Factorio, Satisfacfory, Baldur’s Gate 3, Noita, Cities:Skylines, Prison Architect, Rimworld, Overload (Descent clone), Mindustry…
If you like Diablo-likes, there’s…
- Grim Dawn (new expansion just announced)
- Last Epoch
- Warhammer 40k Inquisitor
- Chronicon (simple graphics but solid gameplay)
- PoE of course but I don’t need a second job
Grim Dawn absolutely smokes Diablo 3/4. The true successor to Diablo 2.
I enjoy Diablo 3 for the “arcadey” aspect, but Grim Dawn is my top ARPG. I was so excited when they announced another expansion.
The competition! lol! Activision is going to put out 2 games this year. Whatever will we play now that these 2 games are owned by a platform holder?
You are correct though that there are a million cool ass games you can play right now and put your money in the pockets of people who make THINGS instead of people who make value for shareholders.
Not to detract from your argument (I agree completely), but indie game devs not only make actual games, but they tend to pour passion into them rather than a formula.
Better spent money than feeding these vampires.
Just realizing corporations aren’t your friends? Anyways, if you like hard, unique puzzle games,
Baba Is Youis the best there is, fullstop.I mean, if we’re gonna namedrop completely unique indie darling difficult puzzles, then Return of the Obra Dinn also deserves a mention.
I’ve been meaning to play that, but still haven’t gotten to it! Maybe next week
I haven’t bought a so called 3A game in several years but Blizzard was a part of my growing years.
So, if I have to spend my money on a game, better to do it on someone worthy of it.
So not an ABK title then?
A what?
I’m guessing Activision Blizzard King
Baldur’s Gate 3 is amazing
If you’re into metroidvanias (platformers where you gain abilities over the course of the game, expanding gameplay and allowing you to access new areas in earlier zones) there are lots of really good indie titles. Hollow Knight is the reference, both Ori games are awesome. Dead Cells is also worth a try if you’re into fast-paced action games, though it’s more of a platformer rogue-lite.
Terraria is pretty fun
Lies of P
Just your luck: Dome Keeper is on sale right now
I’ve been loving BattleBit Remastered lately. It’s cheap, fun as hell, and the very small dev team has been very active and responsive. I bought 3 more copies to give to friends so we could squad up.
I’m really enjoying Valheim lately. It’s similar to Minecraft in a lot of ways, but leans a little more into RPG elements with leveled skills. There’s a bit more of a story, heavier focus on combat, and NPCs to interact with (though I haven’t reached that point myself).
If you like city building/survival style games I’ve been having an absolute blast with Timberborn
I’ve been playing delta V: Rings of Saturn recently
I’ve been playing a really fun indie spy deception game called Deceive Inc.
I just finished playing Cocoon. It was short-but-sweet - it took me two evenings to finish, so probably in the 5-7 hours range - but it was one of the most interesting and engaging puzzle games I’ve played in a long time. What’s especially fascinating to me is that its controls are so simple - everything is done with one analogue stick / WASD and a single interact button - and it’s a very linear game, yet it still feels so engaging to play. It’s from the lead designer of Limbo and Inside, so it has pedigree.
I played it via Game Pass (ha…) so it’s hard for me to say what the value proposition is like. It certainly isn’t going to give you the most time for your money, and it doesn’t really have much in the way of narrative or themes, at least beyond abstract ones. But it has a gorgeous aesthetic and some fantastic puzzles.
Hades, Into the Breach
Lies of p if youre into fromsoft like games
And it’s even on Game Pass! Oh, wait…
Keep in mind that they added Denuvo to the game, apparently post-launch.
Sea of Stars is a pretty fun, especially if you’re a fan of old school turn based jrpgs. Pretty decent story too.
Dotage just released, it’s a relaxing boardgame / city builder made by a single guy over the span of 9 years. It’s very addicting in that “one more turn” way, if you’re into these types of resource management games.
I was done with Activision BEFORE Microsoft came along.
Not with a 100 foot pole. Get fukt Activision
Please I’m begging you just fire everyone who works at blizzard
The decisions made do not reflect what the developers want. Honestly, they’ve done a good job. Blizzard has just made them make shitty things. Technically they are good games, just not as an experience.
Warcraft reforged barely even functions compared to the original game that they ruined. The whole company is trash from the top to the bottom.
This is classic ignorant take of the average user that don’t know how corporate gaming industry works.
The “developers”, the actual engineers, don’t decide shit, some manager that only care for what the higher ups are telling them. And what the higher ups are telling is the same in all corporates: Increase the cash flow.
Overwatch 2 is great so it’s not all bad.
Please bring back Overwatch 1 the very next day.
Halo Watch
It’s fine, they already turned into shit.
Microsoft will make it worse but it’s easy to avoid this stuff, unlike Github.
I’d argue GitHub is one of those project they didn’t absolutely fuck up.
yet
Well, it’s been a few years already, and no enshitification yet.
They owned Minecraft for… 4? 5? years before enshitifying it. There is no time limit for enshitification.
True. I forgot about that since I haven’t played on public MP server fot quite a while now, usually just vanilla/modded with friends.
Will it then be MicrosoftActivisionBlizzatd?
Nah, it’s an acquisition, not a merger
So they’ll just call it Microsoft. Got it.
Cool, can WoW be part of my Gamepass sub now? Thanks.
You think they’re spending billions to give away money??
No, I think they’re going to continue adding massive value to the Gamepass system to keep it afloat and competitive. Maybe a WoW sub is a bit of a stretch, but basically all other games will thrive on the platform. StarCraft 2 is still the benchmark RTS for competitive play. Overwatch and Diablo are not my cups of tea but they would also make great offerings on the platform. Most of Blizzard’s core franchises outside of WoW itself are heavily MTX’d out the ass, battle passes, cosmetics, whatever - even if it’s included in the gamepass sub, the theoretical higher volume of players will likely compensate for unit sales through the aforementioned MTX.
They are going to play classic Microsoft and destroy their competition in this way, then they will do what they want when they have a stranglehold on the market.
I don’t think Sony is going to give up that easily, nor is Nintendo or Valve.
Microsoft has tried, with sheer force of capital to buy out these players and couldn’t understand when they were denied. In tech you can do big mergers and acquisitions with sheer capital but Nintendo is a pride and joy crown jewel of Japanese industry, and no amount of money would allow MS to buy them.
MS’ big push for accessibility and cloud gaming makes them ultimately platform agnostic over time, because they are leveraging the cloud technology to deploy their catalogue on any machine with an internet connection and a screen.
“Classic” Microsoft, the EEE (envelop, extend, extinguish) strategy that made them assholes through the 90s and early aughts hasn’t been nearly as prevalent in the current Nadella era. More often than not MS has been forking open source projects or simply contributing to them in their own ways rather than building proprietary systems.
That’s the only take from Xbox players about this merger that I can get behind.
This would be dope for all the WoWheads being adopted by MS (I’m one). If I’m bored with everything I just revert to WoW. If my subscription included Gamepass, I may be more inclined to check out titles I wouldn’t otherwise play.
It’s funny that I lead with this because I had a minute to think about it and honestly I kind of just don’t care. Dragonflight did not renew my hopes for retail, although it had some neat mechanic changes. Classic will be over for me probably by the end of January, unless they announce basically Classic+ based around the WOTLK talents. I am going to get my Shadowmourne, kill Arthas on heroic, and then go play FFXIV.
I know this isn’t a popular opinion but I’m actually pretty optimistic about this. Blizzard has been shit for a while and this will at least change things, even if it might be for the worse. Also give me their entire catalogue on gamepass pls.
Blizzard’s only game worth playing is HOTS and it’s a prime candidate for being trimmed out
But I don’t expect this to improve the rest of Blizzard
Diablo 4’s foundation is pretty good in my opinion.
I really do hope they get rid of Bobby.
I only care if MS makes blizz bring back OW1
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The problem is, even if they get rid of bobby kotick, he still wins. He is going to walk a way with millions of dollars in a separation agreement.
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Why do you want OW1 back?
Because I paid for it
I paid for Overwatch too but tbh I’d rather have Overwatch 2. There’s no loot box bullcrap and the playerbase now is actually pretty sizeable now compared to OW1 near the end.
I do miss the free rewards but they’re just cosmetics. A bigger playerbase is more beneficial to the game than more free skins.
