
Microsoft shattered the gaming landscape earlier this year by announcing its intentions to acquire Activision Blizzard. We're a good few months on from the announcement now, and Microsoft thinks things are going well, at this stage.
Microsoft president Brad Smith recently discussed the deal with Belgian outlet L'Echo. Smith says that while there's a long way to go yet, the merger is entering its "middle" phase.
It’s moving fast, at least fast enough for an acquisition of this size, [...]
One of our attorneys summed it up nicely by saying, ‘We’re coming to the end of the beginning and now we’re entering the beginning of the middle.
It’s a long process and we’re still at the stage where we’re answering questions. For us, of course, the sooner it is done the better, but we will respect the process.
So, for now, the Activision Blizzard deal is still going through all the required regulatory checks before it can be officially approved. Once it does, Activision Blizzard and its studios & IP will be under the Xbox banner.
Do you think the merger will eventually go through? Let us know in the comments section.
[source lecho.be, via videogameschronicle.com]
Comments (29)
I can't wait for this to finalize. I truly hope MS can find a way to make rolling a WoW subscription into PC Game Pass a viable thing. I love WoW, but sometimes I just don't want to play enough to justify the $15 a month for the sub. I'd play off and on all the time if it were just part of PC Game Pass.
@SplooshDmg I've always been intrigued by wow but never really been a PC player as I found mouse and keyboard too fiddly, so hopefully Microsoft could somehow put the game onto consoles
@UltimateOtaku91 WoW isn't quite what it used to be back in its prime, but even WoW in somewhat poor form is still my favorite MMO. I've never tried it, but I know there is some sort of official/unofficial controller support for WoW that people claim works reasonably well, but I couldn't ever see myself really wanting to use it. Raiding gets hectic, fast. But you really just get used to the mouse and keyboard after a while. I use an Xbox controller on PC as well, and I couldn't muster wanting to play a game like Elden Ring with M&KB, but there are mad men out there that do, and they love it that way. I think it's like most things, it's a big change at first but once you adapt to it, it eventually just feels normal. One of the WoW big wigs sorta shot down a console version just recently, but who knows.
@SplooshDmg Damn that’s actually a really good point
@SplooshDmg Not quite Wow, but i play Final Fantasy Xiv on my PS5 and even though i always played MMORPG like wow and ffxiv on pc before for ages, i can tell you while it is a bit getting used to playing it on a controller, it does work fine. So i wouldnt be against a wow version on xbox. But it will probably be some work to port it over, it prolly has to get the classic treatment to port it over and that might be to much work. But playing it on a controller im pretty sure can work well, seeing that it works wonders on FFXIV and i dont see WoW as much more complex than Wow
@SplooshDmg If they haven't done the TESO sub yet, I doubt a WoW in the sub is coming.
There was a part of me that hoped FFXIV would be a Plus Premium perk on the Sony side, but, alas....
Edit: When I switched from PC-only back to console, I kid you not, I could not play shooters at ALL. I had to buy one of those PS3 mouse/keyboard adapters that map the inputs to analog stick movements so I could even attempt to play shooters at all
@Lavalera Wow is a metric ton more complicated as you have dozens and dozens of spalls and abilities you have to map, often with your screen ending up full of hot bars. 14 is one of the more simple 3D MMOs out there.
Hell, Final Fantasy 11 was more complicated than 14.
And people thought this deal was never gonna go through
@NEStalgia to be fair, ESO doesn't require a sub to play.
@Lavalera I think the thing with WoW and FFXIV is that they just play very differently. They really don't have a lot in common outside of they're both MMO's. FFXIV like FFXI was really designed with a controller in mind because it was always going to be on a console. I actually played FFXI with a controller as opposed to a M&KB because I just liked it better that way. But like I mentioned, there's already some level of controller support for WoW, both official and unofficial, and I've seen people say they worked reasonably well.
https://twitter.com/JezCorden/status/1507071973494603786
Jez was talking about this recently, and of course it's largely viable through things like UI mods and whatnot. So, it's certainly doable on some level, but I think it would require a lot of proper thought on an appropriate UI, but the other issue stems that WoW is heavily dependent on Addons, and that's a whole different issue on a console. I'm not against it in principal if it could or couldn't work, I think it's just a matter of making it work really well.
@InterceptorAlpha That's exactly why I thought TESO might include the sub as a perk. It's a retail game included in GP, but without the expansions you have to buy. The sub mostly just grants all the expansions (which would be like putting them in Game Pass), and is basically required for crafting, so it's a nice perk that's not a primary revenue stream. Perfect for GP. Unlike, say 14 or WoW, where the revenue is the entire business model so that's harder to put in a sub.
To be honest, I am not concerned about the deal going through or even about what that 'could' mean. Of course I know the potential, but I also expect it to take a LONG time after purchase to even start to deliver on that potential.
Initially, the biggest impact will come from Activision Publishing. As soon as MS has that, they can Publish all the A/B back catalogue (except for those other licenced games from James Bond/Marvel) straight to Game Pass. Owning the Publishing rights to their back catalogue is the 'immediate' benefit.
No doubt, those studio's will still need to finish whatever games they were making and get them 'released', honouring any multi-platform/timed exclusivity agreements before they can start work on Xbox games - and no doubt, going to take time re-organising their Studio's,re-establishing those individual Studio identities etc because it makes NO sense having ALL those studio's essentially tied up in 'one' game/franchise.
As we have seen from all the other acquisitions over the past 5yrs, unless they had a game deep into development that no-one yet has actually made a 'deal' for, then its going to take many years before new Exclusives come from this.
Based on recent years, I couldn't see myself caring if A/B 'disappeared'. Not only because I didn't like the way the company was handling itself, but also lost interest in their 'only' Franchise left I would of Played. The fact that I no longer cared about CoD also meant that A/B 'appeared' to have no 'relevance' to my gaming future. No with MS at the helm, I am hopeful that there is a Future for those studio's in my gaming life -but also realistic that it could still be 'many' years away...
@SplooshDmg yeah I agree addons can be a thing. Theoretically that should be possible with mod support but putting them all on Xbox is going to he a tough thing. So even though I would love a port I doubt we will ever get one.
@InterceptorAlpha while that might have been the case in the past bfa and shadow lands cut down a lot of spells. I used to play wow for ages and quit during shadow lands expansion. In the past I needed tons of hotbar but it wasn't as bad anymore during the last 2 expansions. If it really was a problem for wow they wouldn't have implemented controller support like splooshdamage also mentioned
@Lavalera They pruned a lot of spells and stuff, but even on a Ret Paladin my action bars are still just filled to the gills. Heck, before BFA I literally didn't have enough action bar for every spell my shaman had. But Blizzard themselves has never added full support, exactly. The fan made addon actually works better as a complete solution. Blizzards is more a partial controller support, and is essentially added as an accessibility feature, as being able to use a controller stick as opposed to WSAD might be easier for people with certain disabilities. So it's more implemented for situations like that where a combo of traditional controls and controller may help certain people. That's the way I've always understood it anyway.
This is News the gretest news Currently for me 👌💚❤🙏 thanks Microsoft thanks Team Xbox thanks Phil thanks Satya
@NEStalgia Yeah, I think there's just a lot of different takes here as each game is different. ESO doesn't require a sub, but just a cheap base game to get you into buy in game stuff and expansions, or just pay the sub and access it all. WoW like FFXIV still requires you to buy the game and expansions, but you can play free up to a certain point. The difference is that WoW unlike FFXIV will now be a 1st party game for MS, whereas FFXIV is still 3rd for Sony. WoW also does have quite a bit of in game monetization, like mounts, pets, transmogs, character services, etc. So, there's a complex money scheme behind the monthly sub. There's argument to be made that like other Game Pass titles, players may be more tempted to spend money on MTX/DLC by having easier access to the game itself. Not to mention boosting what has been a waning population over the years, but not just opening yourself up to the troubles that potentially come with going entirely F2P. Also, it would be just an enormous draw to PC Game Pass, which in turn helps MS compete on the whole against the juggernaut that is Steam.
The faster the better. I want WoW and Diablo on Game Pass.
They didn't buy it cause of WoW, CoD, or Diablo.. they bought it for their mobile division. Act/Blizz earnings would have been down had it not been for King. 250M users.
@Arcnail To your point though, the coming Diablo Immortal falls into that mobile division. After seeing the outrageous success of a game like Lost Ark on only PC, and Diablo Immortal being on both mobile and PC now, that game might very well print money if they did this even close to right.
@SplooshDmg 100%
Diablo Immortal in creation sure didn't hurt. 30 Million people have signed up for it.
@Richard-92 what exactly are you thanking them for ? lol
@Arcnail Holy mackerel. I hadn't seen that figure. That's mental right there. I signed up for the PC version. I'm pretty excited to finally try it out.
@SplooshDmg we might have had this exchange in the past but I dare bet money that WoW will never become part of GamePass. Not the subscription, anyways. Microsoft so far has not done that for any service game they own.
It’s something that always make me scratch my head when some YouTube personalities go claiming that for Xbox it’s best to have service games to feed GamePass engagement than single player games.
@Tharsman Beats me, they may, they may not. But I also don't really see anything comparable to WoW that they already own. Subscriptions for games like ESO and FO76 are purely supplemental and not mandatory, whereas a game like WoW you don't have access without paying the sub, which is literally as expensive per month as Game Pass Ultimate. $180 a year (There is a slight discount for buying 6 months at a time) to play any one game is a little steep. If MS wants to inject more value into their service, this is surely something to be looked at. I feel like they did give out some free months of Fallout 1st as a GPU perk last year. So maybe they could offer GPU members special discounts on WoW services and subscriptions.
@SplooshDmg WoW, to the best of my knowledge, has a free tier but it only gets you to level 20. As far as I can guess, the most that is likely to happen is for that level cap to be increased to, potentially, level 50 or 60, as for Game Pass integration, potential perks for some nicknacks like minions or mounts.
Truth is, Microsoft or no Microsoft, WoW is the only MMO out there that does not offer any significant way to experience the game for free. Even FFXIV lets you play all content up to 3.x (Heavensward) and that is twice as much story content as most RPGs. WoW could definitively benefit from such a tier.
But overall, the point of Game Pass for Microsoft, not for the player, is to monetize their back catalog as if it was a service of its own, games that they would be lucky to independently sell for $20 months and years after the release window. Day one games are the bait, leaving a bit of money on the table to hook people into the service.
@Tharsman And I'm not disagreeing, the goal is to make money, but WoW isn't what it used to be and the current model is showing it's age in this new world of super value subscriptions. But WoW is also still monetized in game with mounts, pets, transmogs, services, all sorts of stuff. By no means is that sub the only way the game makes money. A faction change costs as much as two months subscription, and people pay for that stuff. There's a lot of potential to monetize the game more similarly to Sea of Thieves, that could be a lot more fun and engaging for more players. Like you said, the goal is to get them in and then make money. Getting more PC Game Pass subscriptions hinged around WoW benefits gets more players into MS's eco on PC, then you have more potential players to buy a pet or transmog set. I think there's a lot more potential here than just take in monthly sub fees from a game that's been declining for years.
@SplooshDmg What you say also applies to FFXIV. I dont think the model has shown its age as much as simply shown there is no much room in the market for multiple games running on the same model. FFXIV and WoW together basically got the market cornered. FFXIV realized long ago, though, that they need to offer a good amount of f2p content.
BTW, FFXIV also does the mount/minion selling thing. They make a ton of monetization outside their subscription, most things cost multiple months worth of subscription.
@Tharsman I dunno. I've played WoW off and on since day one, and I'd strongly argue in the world of F2P games were living in now, asking $15 to play one game for a month is basically insane in today's world. So I just disagree. But I do think your point of only WoW and FFXIV being able to get away with it is very valid. ESO tried and that didn't work out.
I agree with you in a ton of points, but I'm coming more from the angle of I'd just like to see WoW really grow again after having stagnated for so long. I think Dragon Flight has a good shot at being a return to form, but I think a lot more people would still play regularly if the barrier of entry wasn't so steep.
Glad to hear that the acquisition is going well. I’m hopeful it’ll be done sooner than they had anticipated. There’s a conspiracy that they delayed Starfield and Redfall to try and get this merger done faster. Don’t know how that would help, but it’s the latest I heard.
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