Activision News Articles
Tuesday21st Feb 2023
News Microsoft Agrees Deal With Nvidia To Bring Xbox & ActiBlizz Games To GeForce Now
Phil Spencer has made a statement on the partnership
There's been another big acquisition-led showdown in the EU today, as Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and other companies all meet to discuss Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal. One of those other companies is Nvidia, who've just agreed a deal with Microsoft relating to bringing Xbox games to the 'GeForce...
Friday17th Feb 2023
News Three Rivals Feel Microsoft's ActiBlizz Deal Would Have 'Negative Impact On Competition'
The latest from the UK CMA's investigation
The UK Competition and Markets Authority is still investigating Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal, with the final report currently set to be published by April 26th. While we've heard plenty about Sony's clear objections to the merger, today the CMA posted new findings relating to other gaming competitors...
Wednesday15th Feb 2023
News Microsoft Will Defend Its Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal In EU Court Hearing Next Week
Will the company see success?
Some of you may remember (unless you're as lost as we are at this point) that not too long ago, Microsoft reportedly received a 'statement of objections' from the European Commission in regards to the Xbox ActiBlizz deal. That statement basically included a bunch of things the commission wants to see altered for the...
Monday13th Feb 2023
News Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 Trailer Showcases Free Maps & Modes For Multiplayer
Dive in on Feb. 15th!
Activision and Infinity Ward have just dropped the Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 launch trailer, which finally showcases a bit more of the multiplayer content coming to MW2 this month. The standouts here are the free maps and modes arriving as part of the game's second major seasonal content drop. Fan favourite modes...
Friday10th Feb 2023
News Sony Feels Microsoft Is Committing 'Obvious Harassment' In Relation To ActiBlizz Deal
What is going on?!
Not too long ago (although it all seems like a blur at this point), Microsoft ordered Sony to attend court to present its findings regarding Xbox's Activision Blizzard purchase. That court trial hasn't gone ahead yet — the hearing is currently planned for August 2nd — but it seems like Sony isn't too happy with Microsoft's...
Thursday9th Feb 2023
News Call Of Duty Fans Aren't Happy With Modern Warfare 2's Season 2 Update
"6v6 COD is dying"
Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward has fully unveiled its Modern Warfare 2 & Warzone 2.0 roadmap for Season 2, and it's safe to say the info drop is proving somewhat controversial. While Warzone 2.0 players seem fairly satisfied with what's coming during the game's second season, MW2 multipla
Wednesday8th Feb 2023
News Microsoft CEO Suggests ActiBlizz Deal Would Help Xbox 'Compete' In Japan
Expanding territories
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appeared on CNBC this week to talk about the future of the company, including what's next for the Xbox team. Of course, this discussion led to questions about the Activision Blizzard acquisition, and how Microsoft is responding to the current regulatory approval processes going on around the world...
News UK Authority Proposes Excluding Call Of Duty From Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal
Amongst other potential changes
The UK CMA has today published a new report on its ongoing investigation into Xbox's ActiBlizz deal, and there's a lot to unpack here in regards to the likelihood of the purchase actually going through. While there are plenty of wrinkles to this report, much of the focus is once again centred around Call of Duty. The...
Monday6th Feb 2023
News Call Of Duty 'Full Annual Premium Release' Set To Launch In 2023
Water is wet
Activision Blizzard's latest financial report is now out for public viewing, or at least a summarised version of it is via the company's investor website. New ActiBlizz financials means one surefire thing - plenty of talk about Call of Duty. Alongside lots of boasting about how much money last year's Modern Warfare 2 made — along...
Tuesday24th Jan 2023
News Microsoft Orders Sony To Attend Activision Blizzard Court Hearing This Summer
For the FTC trial
Things are getting real now! As part of Xbox's ongoing tussle over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has issued a subpoena to Sony - summoning the PlayStation owner to attend an FTC court hearing this summer. According to a new filing in the overall case, Microsoft issued the legal order on January 17th, expecting...
Monday16th Jan 2023
Report EU Commission Preparing 'Statement Of Objections' Over Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal
We should hear more soon
A number of authorities around the world are currently investigating Xbox's Activision Blizzard acquisition, to ensure a fair and open market in the gaming industry is retained post-deal. One of those authorities is the European Commission, which is reportedly preparing a statement on the matter. According to Reuters, the...
Friday13th Jan 2023
Report Google & Nvidia The Latest Companies To 'Express Concerns' Over Xbox ActiBlizz Deal
In line, behind Sony
The saga continues! In a new report from Bloomberg, it's mentioned that both Google and Nvidia are beginning to express concerns over the Xbox Activision Blizzard deal, although the two companies' interests seem a little different to Sony, which has continually argued against the deal going ahead for various reasons
Thursday12th Jan 2023
News Activision's Spyro Developer Posts Subtle Hint As Anniversary Looms
The lil' dragon is 25 this year!
Spyro the Dragon first flamed its way onto the scene way back in 1998, originally as a PlayStation exclusive created by the Sony-owned Insomniac Games. Nowadays Activision owns the franchise, and the team behind the recent Spyro Reignited Trilogy is possibly hinting at more to come from the little purple dragon. In...
Thursday5th Jan 2023
News UK CMA Extends Deadline For Its Investigation Into Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal
The wait continues
The Xbox ActiBlizz news just keeps on coming! After an FTC attorney just revealed that settlement talks between the US authority and Microsoft are yet to commence, the UK Competition and Markets Authority is back with an update of its own. The CMA has decided to extend its investigation period, meaning any ruling on Microsoft's...
Wednesday4th Jan 2023
Report Microsoft, ActiBlizz & The FTC Yet To Begin 'Substantive' Settlement Talks
The deal could end up in court
Earlier this month, the US Federal Trade Commission formally announced its intentions to try and block the Xbox Activision Blizzard deal, pointing at Microsoft's Bethesda exclusivity plans as a big reason for doing so. Ahead of a potential legal trial both parties could engage in settlement talks to sort this thing out...
Friday30th Dec 2022
News Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal Approved By Chile Authority
Progression
Xbox may well be battling hard with UK and US authorities over its purchase of Activision Blizzard, but the acquisition is proving a smoother process in other counties around the world. We know that Brazil and Saudi Arabia have already approved the deal, and now a second South A
Friday23rd Dec 2022
"The FTC ignores the significant benefits of the Transaction..."
Strap yourselves in, folks — here we go again! Earlier this month, the US Federal Trading Commission announced it was filing a suit against Microsoft's attempted takeover of Activision Blizzard, and now Microsoft and ActiBlizz have revealed their responses in court documents. The...
Wednesday21st Dec 2022
News CMA Reveals Public Feedback Has Been Mostly In Favour Of Xbox's ActiBlizz Acquisition
Based on around 2100 responses
The UK Competition and Markets Authority is currently conducting a "Phase 2" investigation into Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and you may remember that a couple of months ago, the authority also began asking the general public for their views on the takeover. Well, those results are now in,...
Thursday8th Dec 2022
News Gabe Newell: Valve Trusts Microsoft, 10-Year Call Of Duty Offer 'Wasn't Necessary'
"Phil and the team have always followed through..."
Yesterday, Microsoft announced it had "committed to continue to offer" Call of Duty on Steam after the planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As reassuring as it is, it seems Valve co-founder and CEO Gabe Newell was never really worried in the first place. Speaking to Kotaku, Gabe revealed...
Wednesday7th Dec 2022
News Microsoft Enters '10-Year Commitment' To Bring Call Of Duty To Nintendo Platforms
CoD will also continue to be offered on Steam
Following on from yesterday's news about Microsoft offering Sony a 10-year deal to keep the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has now delivered another huge update. In a brief post on social media, the Xbox boss announced Microsoft had entered into a "10-year...
Monday5th Dec 2022
News There's Apparently A 'Rift' At The FTC Over Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal
Things might have swung in Microsoft's favour
It was reported recently that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was likely to file a lawsuit against Microsoft's attempt acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but there's now "hope" that the merger will be approved by the FTC instead. A new report from the New York Post says that the acquisition has...
Thursday24th Nov 2022
News Activision Blizzard 'Won't Hesitate To Fight' To Defend Xbox Deal
And in this corner...
Wednesday, November 23rd was another landmark day in the ongoing back-and-forth over Xbox's deal with Activision Blizzard. Recent statements from both Microsoft and Sony in response to the UK CMA's investigation of the deal were finally made public, while a r
Report US FTC 'Likely' To File Lawsuit Against Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal
Uh-oh
Update: Activision has now responded to this report with a statement, revealing that the company "won't hesitate to fight to defend the transaction if that's needed". <related ids="141650"> Original story: More revelations regarding the Xbox Activision Blizzard deal have come to light in recent hours, with outlet
Wednesday16th Nov 2022
News Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 & Warzone 2.0 Battle Pass Lets You Choose Your Unlock Path
From a selection of free & paid rewards
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 & Warzone 2.0 Season One content is beginning to go live, including new multiplayer maps, weapons, operators and more. A key way to grab some extra free content within Call of Duty's live service is via the Battle Pass system, and Infinity Ward is doing things a little...
Thursday10th Nov 2022
News Call Of Duty: Warzone 2.0 Appears On Xbox Store As 100GB+ Download
It's another huge file size!
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 may be out in the wild — gobbling up players' storage space like there's no tomorrow — but the free-to-play Warzone 2.0 is right around the corner as well, and if a new leak is anything to go by, it'll be a big install on Xbox. Well-known Microsoft Store leaker
Tuesday8th Nov 2022
News Activision Confirms 'Premium Release' Planned For Call Of Duty In 2023
But will it be an expansion for Modern Warfare 2?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has proved another annual juggernaut for Activision, breaking opening weekend sales records yet again. Even so, the publisher has already been looking ahead to next year's release in its Q3 2022 financial overview. Tucked into their fiscal results a
Monday7th Nov 2022
News Phil Spencer 'Excited' About Future Of StarCraft & Warcraft Under Xbox
"What could happen with those franchises is pretty exciting to me"
A lot has been said about the treasure trove of IP that Xbox would own after the Activision Blizzard merger, especially things like Call of Duty, Crash and Spyro, amongst other franchises. However, Blizzard has a lot to bring to the table as well, especially more PC-centric
Tuesday1st Nov 2022
News Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Just Delivered The Series' Best-Ever Opening Weekend
Raking it in
Call of Duty always sells ridiculously well, doesn't it? Even in an off year, the franchise is typically one of the best-selling releases, with millions of copies shipped worldwide for each title. So, what happens when Modern Warfare returns as most AAA games are pushed to 2023? The best-selling CoD launch ever, as it turns out. In an...
News Xbox Insists It's 'Not Taking Call Of Duty From PlayStation'
Phil Spencer: "That's not our intent"
Last week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer mentioned how Microsoft intended to treat Call of Duty like Minecraft when asked about the series' future post-acquisition. Now, during an interview with the 'Same Brain' YouTube channel, Phil has reiterated his comments about making Call of Duty as accessible as possible - in...
Sunday30th Oct 2022
News Xbox Boss Remains Confident Activision Blizzard Deal Will Be Approved
"We're very focused"
Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is still in the process of being finalised, and while it might seem frustrating for the team at Microsoft, Xbox boss Phil Spencer says the ongoing discussion surrounding the size of the acquisition is warranted. In an interview at WSJ Tech Live 2022 earlier this week, Spencer reiterated...
