Blizzard News Articles
Monday20th Nov 2023
News Xbox Revenue Would Overtake PlayStation With ActiBlizz On Board, Says Data Firm
Looking at 2023 figures so far
Microsoft's huge Activision Blizzard deal has always been seen as a bit of a money-maker for the Xbox owner, especially with such valuable franchises in-play across Activision, Blizzard and indeed King. Series' such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush and World of Warcraft will bring in lots of additional revenue for Xbox,...
Tuesday14th Nov 2023
News Microsoft Gaming CEO Congratulates Xbox's Game Awards Nominees
"Proud of the work delivered by our teams this year"
The Game Awards nominations have now been revealed, and unfortunately, Xbox and Bethesda's space RPG Starfield hasn't made the shortlist for 'Game of the Year'. Despite this, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has congratulated the teams at Xbox as well as other nominees on social media. In this...
Thursday9th Nov 2023
News Overwatch's League Shutdown Might Cost Activision Blizzard (And Now Microsoft) $120m
Update: Blizzard seemingly confirms "new direction"
Update [Thu 9th Nov, 2023 02:00 GMT]: A Blizzard rep has now told Engadget it's "transitioning from the Overwatch League" and evolving "competitive Overwatch in a new direction". "We are grateful to everyone who made OWL possible and remain focused on building our vision of a revitalized esports...
Wednesday8th Nov 2023
News Blizzard President Says 'Players Have No Patience' And 'Want New Stuff Every Day'
So it aims to serve up "more content" in a "responsible" way
Blizzard's president Mike Ybarra is currently doing the press rounds, and in the same interview with The Verge, he touched on content delivery in modern games, noting how challenging it can be to find the right balance to satisfy everyone in the community. Ybarra, who leads massive...
Tuesday7th Nov 2023
News Blizzard Open To StarCraft Revival Under Microsoft, New Idea Requires 'Vision And Passion'
Blizzard president: "I'll bet on that team"
Now that Microsoft and Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has gone through, there are many fans out there calling for the return of series like StarCraft. Believe it or not, but the last entry released was the remaster of the original title back in 2017, so what are the future plans for this famous...
News Blizzard Excited To Have More Independence Under Xbox
A "new era" has begun
During BlizzCon 2023's opening ceremony, Blizzard's president Mike Ybarra mentioned how it was a "new era" for the company under Xbox and Microsoft Gaming, so what exactly does he mean by this? In a new interview with The Verge, Ybarra elaborated on how this essentially translates to more creative freedom and empowerment -...
Monday6th Nov 2023
News Blizzard On The Possibility Of WoW On Xbox: 'We Are Microsoft Now'
"Of course we're talking about that"
There's been a lot of conversation previously about whether or not Blizzard's legendary MMO World of Warcraft could one day come to consoles, so is there a chance now that the Microsoft acquisition is complete? During an interview at BlizzCon 2023, World of Warcraft vice president and executive producer Holly...
Saturday4th Nov 2023
News New Overwatch 2 Tank Hero 'Mauga' Unveiled At BlizzCon 2023
Try him out this weekend in a "limited-time trial"
As part of the BlizzCon 2023 celebrations, the class-based free-to-play shooter Overwatch 2 has unveiled a brand new hero. Introducing Mauga - a brand new tank hero. He'll be available in a "limited-time trial" this weekend before his release in Season 8. Here's a bit about him, courtesy of...
News Diablo 4's First Expansion Vessel Of Hatred Announced, Coming 'Late 2024'
Featuring a class "never-before-seen" in Diablo
Diablo IV got off to a strong start when it was originally released earlier this year - quickly becoming Blizzard's "fastest-selling game of all time" and biggest launch ever - bringing in more than 10 million players in the first month. Since then, there have been some teething issues with the game's...
Friday3rd Nov 2023
News Phil Spencer Says 'The Future Of Blizzard Is Brighter Than Ever' Under Xbox
As he welcomes Blizzard fans to BlizzCon 2023
On day one of BlizzCon, Microsoft's Gaming CEO Phil Spencer appeared at the very beginning of the show to discuss the future of Blizzard under Xbox. In a nutshell, the company's gaming boss believes "the future of Blizzard is brighter than ever" under Xbox. Phil went into a bit more detail about this,...
Thursday2nd Nov 2023
News EA CEO: 'Microsoft & Activision Is A Great Thing For Our Industry'
"One of the world's largest companies is going to continue to invest"
Xbox's huge Activision Blizzard deal has now gone through, and its successful completion has led to questions of other potential acquisitions in the gaming industry. Of course, EA is one of the big names left on the table (either in terms of EA picking up other teams, or a...
Friday27th Oct 2023
"Drop into two painstakingly-recreated Battle Royale maps"
For quite a while now we've known that one of Xbox's biggest goals with its Activision Blizzard acquisition is to grow in the mobile gaming space, and a new Call of Duty blog post shows us a little bit about why that goal is already coming into view. As part of the Call of Duty franchise's...
News Activision Blizzard Documents Its 44-Year History With New Infographic Featuring Xbox
"We begin an exciting new chapter"
It's been an exciting period for Microsoft and Xbox with the finalisation of the Activision Blizzard (and King) acquisition. Now, as part of this, Activision Blizzard has released a huge infographic documenting the entire history of both companies, the eventual merger, and joining team Xbox. Throughout it, there...
News Here's A Look At Microsoft And Xbox's New Gaming Leadership Structure
See for yourself
It's been another big week for team Xbox with the latest announcement of a Microsoft reshuffle which sees some familiar faces promoted. Perhaps the biggest changes apart from Activision Blizzard, are the promotions of two execs. As noted in the initial announcement, Matt Booty is now 'president of game content and studios'...
Thursday26th Oct 2023
News Microsoft Reshuffle Makes Huge Changes To Team Xbox, Matt Booty & Sarah Bond Promoted
We have a new structure in place at Xbox
Xbox is in the midst of making massive changes to its leadership structure, as a result of recent acquisitions like that of Bethesda Softworks and Activision Blizzard. As detailed by The Verge, multiple Xbox execs will hold new roles after the company reshuffle, including familiar faces like Sarah Bond and
Wednesday25th Oct 2023
News Xbox's Leadership Team Visits Blizzard Post-Acquisition
Microsoft strives to be a "source of trust" for the studio
Following Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Phil Spencer and team Xbox have been busy doing studio tours all around the world. The latest visit was Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California and while Xbox's leadership team hasn't formally shared what exactly went on...
Tuesday24th Oct 2023
News Microsoft 'Doubling Down As A Game Producer' After ActiBlizz Deal, Says CEO
"Now we'll be one of the largest game publishers"
After Microsoft closed its Activision Blizzard deal earlier this month, Xbox Game Studios has grown exponentially. As you can see here, the amount of studios now under Microsoft's wing is kind of mind-blowing, and the company's CEO is relishing the opportunity to start producing more games. Speaking...
Friday20th Oct 2023
News Phil Spencer & Co. Given 'Sweet Welcome' As They Visit Candy Crush Developer King
One of the new ActiBlizz teams welcomes Xbox
Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team have wasted no time in the wake of Microsoft's huge Activision Blizzard deal. Shortly after the Xbox owner acquired the mega-publisher, Phil & co. have been to visit King Games - the team behind the mobile hit Candy Crush. As posted to Twitter, King has...
Wednesday18th Oct 2023
News This Diablo 4 Custom Console Is So Epic It Doesn't Even Look Like An Xbox
It doesn't work like one either, weirdly
Just as Microsoft finally acquires Diablo 4 developer Blizzard, the team announces another custom Xbox Series X console, and not only does this thing look hellish in its design - it also functions like its been plunged into the depths of hell too. Yep, weirdly, this latest Xbox Series X custom console...
Friday13th Oct 2023
News Activision Says Xbox Can 'Take Games In The Library And Remake Them' Post-Acquisition
Which Activision Blizzard game do you want remade?
Now that the Activision Blizzard deal has officially gone through, we can all look forward to the future - a future where Xbox has total control over ActiBlizz IP. The Call of Duty owner is sitting on a treasure trove of other gaming franchises, and we could even see some of them return in 'remake'...
News Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Set To Leave The Company In Early 2024
"I will do that through the end of 2023"
Although Activision Blizzard is officially a part of Xbox now (we still can't believe it either), questions remain about the future of the company under Microsoft and if there'll be any structural changes in the near future. Well, thanks to statements from both Phil Spencer and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, we...
News Phil Spencer Comments On What It Means To Merge Activision Blizzard With Xbox First Party
"It is incredible to welcome such legendary teams to Xbox"
Well, the megaton news we've all been waiting for has finally landed. Activision Blizzard is officially a part of team Xbox as Microsoft eventually pushes its huge merger through after almost two years of work. Now that we've waded through all of the legislation and whatnot though, it's...
Friday22nd Sep 2023
News CMA Approval A 'Significant Milestone' Towards Xbox Merging With Activision Blizzard
"This approval is critical to completing our merger"
Today has brought welcome news in regards to Xbox's ActiBlizz deal, with the UK CMA now approving the acquisition - pending input from various third party companies that took part in the investigation. While the purchase hasn't been completed just yet, both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard feel...
News UK CMA Grants 'Preliminary Approval' Of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Purchase
"Microsoft has now substantially restructured the deal"
We're almost there, folks! The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has today announced that it has granted preliminary approval for Microsoft to purchase Activision Blizzard. The CMA's decision still needs to be consulted with any third parties involved in the process, but for all intents...
Tuesday8th Aug 2023
News Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Deal Approved In Another Country
New Zealand gives it the thumbs up
While we wait for Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard to get approved in the UK, today it's been announced the deal has been given the green light in New Zealand. This was officially passed by the Commerce Commission of New Zealand - meaning Team Xbox has now been granted clearance to acquire "100% of...
Monday31st Jul 2023
News Microsoft Submits Changes To UK CMA Over Its 'Anticipated Acquisition' Of Activision Blizzard
The final level
Microsoft has submitted what is expected to be its final report to the CMA concerning its Xbox Activision Blizzard deal. Microsoft's submission was made on July 25th and goes over the CMA's concerns in detail, as stated by the authority in a notice posted today. The UK authority also mentions that such a move is "not a usual part of...
Wednesday26th Jul 2023
News Microsoft CEO: Xbox Remains 'Confident' About Activision Blizzard Acquisition
The deal is almost across the line
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is nearing the finish line according to previous statements made by company heads. If you are in need of some reassurance though, CEO Satya Nadella has now provided an incredibly brief update during the latest earnings report. According to the Microsoft boss, the tech...
Monday24th Jul 2023
News Blizzard Addresses Fan Complaints About Controversial Changes To Diablo 4
"We want to acknowledge everyone's feedback"
If you're in the loop with Diablo 4, you probably know about Blizzard's recent patch that made sweeping changes to the balance of the game. The changes didn't exactly go down well, with many fans feeling like too much was nerfed, so the team has come out and addressed this fan feedback. <related...
Thursday20th Jul 2023
News Blizzard Games Announced For Steam Ahead Of Xbox Acquisition
Overwatch 2 will be the first title added to Valve's service
Xbox head Phil Spencer has already mentioned how Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard would make select games available to more players around the globe, and now in an industry update, Blizzard has announced it will be bringing its own games to Valve's Steam service for the first...
Wednesday19th Jul 2023
News Diablo 4 Patch 1.1.0 Suffers Criticism Ahead Of Season 1 Content Drop
'Season of the Malignant' begins this week
Diablo 4's first big post-launch content drop is inbound in the form of 'Season of the Malignant' arriving this week, and ahead of time, Blizzard has applied a new patch to the game on Xbox. The update makes absolutely tons of changes to the core game, including adding new Unique items and Legendary...
