Activision News Articles
Thursday11th May 2023
News Call Of Duty 2023 Reveal Reportedly Coming In August, Zombies Mode To Feature At Launch
Update: The game is reportedly 'Modern Warfare III'
[Update - Thurs 7pm]: The same source at Insider Gaming is now reporting that Call of Duty 2023 will indeed be titled 'Modern Warfare III' - a direct sequel to 2022's Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This year's game will reportedly contain "campaign, multiplayer, zombies, and a new Warzone 2 map...
Wednesday10th May 2023
Report Activision Blizzard Hires Royal Family-Level Lawyer To Fight UK CMA
He represented the Queen at one point!
Things are seemingly getting pretty serious when it comes to Xbox's squabble with the UK CMA over its Activision Blizzard deal! According to law analyst Florian Mueller (via Eurogamer), ActiBlizz has gone all the way to the top in hiring a lawyer to overturn
"We continue to be Microsoft's biggest partner"
EA held an earnings call for the period ending March 31, 2023 last night, and as part of CEO Andrew Wilson's comments, he talked a little bit about Microsoft's ongoing attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard. Basically, according to Wilson, the company is "indifferent" about whether Microsoft's...
Friday28th Apr 2023
News Ukraine The Latest Nation To Pass Xbox's Activision Blizzard Acquisition
Microsoft sees success in the region
It's not all doom and gloom for Microsoft when it comes to the ongoing ActiBlizz deal! The Ukrainian government has announced this week that it is happy for Xbox's acquisition of the company to go ahead. Yep, despite hitting a major stumbling block here in the UK, the Eastern European nation seems satisfied with...
News Microsoft Signs New 10-Year Deal Despite UK ActiBlizz Verdict
"We are full speed ahead in our mission"
This week brought earth shattering Xbox news, when the UK CMA decided to block Microsoft's huge purchase of Activision Blizzard. The Xbox owner is already committed to appealing the decision though, and now, it's made another move to suggest that this deal is far from over. This morning, Microsoft has...
Wednesday26th Apr 2023
News Microsoft Will Appeal UK Decision To Block Activision Blizzard Purchase
"We remain fully committed to this acquisition"
In case you missed the megaton news earlier on, the UK Competition and Markets Authority has officially blocked Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal. We definitely weren't expecting that decision, but it seems that Microsoft is already prepared for what comes next. In an official statement from company...
Wednesday19th Apr 2023
News Microsoft Reportedly Invited To 'Showcase Its Products' At UK's 10 Downing St Next Week
At the same time the CMA delivers its verdict on ActiBlizz
Microsoft's protracted showdown with the UK Competition and Markets Authority is about to end after months of back and forth over Xbox getting its ActiBlizz deal closed. The CMA's investigation will be all wrapped up by next Wednesday, April 26, and it seems like Microsoft might be booking...
Friday14th Apr 2023
News Microsoft Is Starting To Advertise Its ActiBlizz Acquisition On Billboards In London
Call of tubey
Early last month, Microsoft increased its efforts to convince the UK that its Activision Blizzard deal would be a good one for gaming, when full-page ads started cropping up in newspapers. Well, those same ads (or very similar ones) have now been converted into digital billboards as the Xbox owner continues to push for positivity...
Tuesday11th Apr 2023
News Xbox Signs Yet Another 10-Year ActiBlizz Deal, This Time With UK Mobile Network
Kevin Bacon approves
As approval processes continue for Xbox's huge Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft has signed another 10-year agreement in relation to its cloud gaming endeavours. This time, the Xbox owner has entered into a deal with UK internet and mobile phone provider EE. As expected, the agreement is focused on bringing Activision...
Wednesday29th Mar 2023
News Activision Won't Allow Sony's 'Disappointing Behaviour' To Impact Long Term Relations
Bobby Kotick says they're doing it for the players
The ongoing battle between Microsoft and Sony has been a long and difficult process with Activision Blizzard essentially caught in the crossfire. It's notably stalled Activision's own plans, and has evidently taken its toll on some of the company's key figures (with Sony refusing to sign the Call...
Friday24th Mar 2023
News Activision Blizzard Warns Of 'Unprecedented Queue Times' For The Diablo 4 Open Beta
"Please be patient with us"
Diablo 4's Xbox open beta kicks off later today and will be live over the course of the weekend, however Activision and Blizzard aren't expecting it to be plain sailing throughout. The teams are warning players of "unprecedented traffic and queue times" once the beta moves from pre-order exclusivity to being fully open to...
Tuesday21st Mar 2023
News 'Crash Team Rumble' Hits Xbox This June, At An Attractive Price Point
Crash's upcoming online spinoff is almost ready!
Activision has officially revealed a proper release date for Crash Team Rumble! Developer Toys for Bob's upcoming Bandicoot spinoff launches June 20th on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, at a base price of $29.99. That version of the game is also supplemented by a Deluxe Edition at $39.99, bundling in...
Tuesday14th Mar 2023
News Microsoft Signs Another 10-Year Deal In Its Bid To Buy Activision Blizzard
"Players deserve more choice than they have now"
In a bid to further enhance Xbox's case for buying Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has confirmed another 10-year agreement has been put into place following similar deals with Nintendo and Nvidia. This time around,
Thursday9th Mar 2023
News Microsoft Is Running Full-Page Newspaper Ads About Call Of Duty On Xbox
"More games, for more players on more platforms"
We've seen that UK regulators have been some of the toughest to convince for Microsoft, so the company is going on the offensive to convince the nation that its Activision Blizzard deal will be good for gaming. As spotted by The Verg
News Sony Just Wants To 'Block' Merger, According To Activision Blizzard CCO
This is why "they keep refusing" the Call of Duty deal
Microsoft's battle with Sony has become quite public in recent months, and while a lot of it has come from official documentation, occasionally there have been some comments made on social media. The latest one comes from Activision Blizzard's Chief Communications Officer, Lulu Cheng Meservey,...
Wednesday8th Mar 2023
News Microsoft Says Xbox Game Pass Prices Won't Increase If ActiBlizz Deal Goes Through
"Any price increase would be counter-productive"
The UK CMA has posted another document relating to its ongoing Activision Blizzard investigation today, as Microsoft continues in its pursuit to acquire the Call of Duty publisher. This document goes over Xbox's response to making potential 'remedies' to suit all interested parties, and Xbox Game Pass...
Tuesday7th Mar 2023
Report Xbox Feels UK CMA Has 'Significantly' Overestimated The Impact Of COD Exclusivity
If it ever happened
The UK Competition and Markets Authority is one of the various regulatory bodies currently overseeing Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal, with the authority consistently hypothesising why the deal could, and possibly should, be blocked. One of those reasons is related to Call of Duty, with the CMA even suggesting that
Thursday2nd Mar 2023
News Microsoft Granted Access To Certain Sony Docs As FTC Continues To Scrutinise ActiBlizz Deal
Some access granted, some denied
Many of you have probably been following Xbox's ongoing Activision Blizzard negotiations, with Microsoft still trying to secure regulatory approval for its mammoth deal. As was perhaps expected, Sony has become one of Microsoft's biggest obstacles for the deal going ahead, and it looks like the PlayStation owner will...
Wednesday22nd Feb 2023
News Xbox Says It's Offering 'Better Deal' Than Sony's Current COD Contract, Which Expires In 2024
"It's a better deal for Sony than the one they have right now"
Microsoft has been very upfront about offering Sony 10 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation following Xbox's Activision Blizzard acquisition, an offer also extended to Nintendo this week. Even though the likes of Nintendo have now accepted the deal, the PlayStation owner is yet to accept...
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 mult
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...
