240°

A new chapter

Combining with Microsoft will enable us to deliver more fun, more joy, and more connection to more players, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick writes.

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gold_drake825d ago (Edited 825d ago )

yeh, he'll retire after that and walk away with 520 mio lol

i dont think that this decision makes Phil a saint

isarai824d ago

And shielded from all the sexual harassment charges I'm sure MS payed out settlements/hush money to keep him around for the deal.

XiNatsuDragnel824d ago

Microsoft is probably buying the harrased people out real quick too.

Zeref824d ago (Edited 824d ago )

Lol Kotick doesn't need MS for hush money. He's already extremely rich.

The lengths you PS fanboys are willing to go to discredit Xbox is just insane to me, yall need a mental health check.

I remember a Sony exec was caught being a pedophile. You don't see xbox fans saying Sony is protecting pedophiles out there. It's only Sony fanboys with that much hate in their heart for a console lol.
Go get your heads checked.

isarai823d ago

@Zeref

And that guy got fired on the spot, meanwhile Bobby got a bonus.

Eonjay823d ago

Basically Microsoft agreed to pay him out so he sold Activision to them. He bailed. He dropped all the problems he generated on Microsoft and will never face responsibility. And Microsoft took advantage of his weakness at that point. Perhaps this makes them smart.

thesoftware730823d ago (Edited 823d ago )

How sure are you? 10%, 20%, 50%, maybe 100%?

Get a grip bro, Bobby was gonna skate away unscathed because he is filthy rich, not because MS paid people of for him...what a silly take. A/B employees are happy for the management change, and now can even unionize...but you have your MS hate agenda and conspiracy theories.

MS is getting Rid of him, and other execs are expected to get the boot as well, so lay off it and let these employees get some rest with your nonsensical, asinine, negative conspiracies.

@Zeref, they really do come off as if they lose sleep over this shit, it's almost rabid at this point.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 823d ago
Godmars290824d ago

Someone who seeing buying a competitor, and not with money from your division, rather than out performing them, is suppose to be competent in business?

neutralgamer1992823d ago

It’s over it’s time to move on. No sense is saying the same things when nothing can be changed now anyways. It will be interesting to see how Sony will react and if they are to buy capcom and square how would Xbox fans look at those acquisitions and keep future titles like resident evil and monster hunter away from them

-Foxtrot824d ago

"more players"

Yes cutting one console out the equation means more players.

Guess with PR bullshit like this him and Phil Spencer get on so well

Obscure_Observer824d ago (Edited 824d ago )

"Yes cutting one console out the equation means more players."

Cutting one, adding many more platforms, means more choices for many more gamers.

That said, yeah, its sucks to be a PS only fan atm, not gonna lie. But at least you´re still getting COD for 10 years at least. Can´t say the same about other future new games/IPs from ABK that Phil might greenlit, but at least you have COD which was Sony main and only concern.

Playstation could have it all if Ryan accepted to sign the 10 years deal the first time. Since he´d refused saying that the only thing he wanted was to see the deal blocked, now Sony will only have access to COD.

You can thank Ryan for that.

Christopher824d ago

Those platforms were already there and being used. Nothing is being added here.

824d ago
Pedantic91824d ago

You seem awfully obsessed about Sony and Playstation fans.

Godmars290824d ago (Edited 824d ago )

"Cutting one, adding many more platforms,"

No. Just buying already existing user bases. Possibly cutting out the larger user base, since the likes of COD are played more on PS than Xbox with PC 1st or 2nd (?), with the hope those users migrate to Xbox.

Likewise King doesn't figure into the console mess, as its mobile. It gives MS stake in a market its repeatedly failed to insert itself into. Which is the key issue.

If MS was unable to build market share in gaming for all its attempts, has seen diminished returns after buying Gears and handpicking 343, what happens now with ABK who were not in a healthy state?

Right now, all I see of the "console wars" at this point are levels of denial about what's put out under MS.

Sony too, if they can't get their s**t together now that Ryan's gone.

ChiefofLoliPolice824d ago

You are just a blind as ever Observer. I guess I should expect that from you. Not suprised at all by your dumb comment.

Elda824d ago (Edited 824d ago )

Besides COD & Diablo, Activision has nothing solely PS owners would miss if MS decides to keep their future games off of PS. What else is there but Spyro, Crash & Tony Hawk?? LMAO!! I would think most solely PS owners as of now don't really care about those 3 games?? PS will be fine.

824d ago
Zeref824d ago

@Christopher

Nintendo doesn't have CoD.
It's also not currently available on cloud.

Vengeance1138824d ago

That's one hell of a PR spin you got there. You must get paid quite well by MS.

But blind fanboyism will do that. Highly doubt CoD even exists in 10yrs. MW3 is already one of the worst entries and just one big corporate greed mess. Continue on that path and you got one dead franchise.

Sharky231824d ago

@obscure
I may be wrong here but besides COD what new ip has blizzard Activision came out with? It’s like all the studios work to get COD out every year.

Obscure_Observer823d ago

@Christopher

"Those platforms were already there and being used. Nothing is being added here."

Wrong. Kotick removed COD games from Nintendo 10 years ago and removed all games from NVIDIA´s Geforce NOW 4 years ago.

Ubisoft+. Ukraine-based cloud gaming service, Boosteroid and Taiwan-based cloud gaming provider, Ubitus, are newest platforms getting support from Xbox and Activision/Blizzard games.

So yes, it´s much more platforms and much more gamers getting more ABK´s games. Period! That´s why the deal was approved in the first place.

@10M3daysorFail

"There won't be any "other future new games/IPs from ABK" lol. It's Microsoft you are talking about."

Yeah, I´m talking about the same Microsoft that brought back Killer Instinct, Battletoads, Age of Empires, Flight Simulator and now is bringing back Fable and Perfect Dark. Just do me a favor and keep your FUD nonsense to yourself.

@Godmars290

"No. Just buying already existing user bases. Possibly cutting out the larger user base, since the likes of COD are played more on PS than Xbox with PC 1st or 2nd (?), with the hope those users migrate to Xbox."

Dude, for the last time: Xbox don´t need Playstation to successful! Even less now! With the ABK´s deal approved, Xbox has now many partnerships with to many platforms to release its games. Those are the facts. Get over it!

@Sharky231

"I may be wrong here but besides COD what new ip has blizzard Activision came out with? It’s like all the studios work to get COD out every year."

Their new IP is a fantasy survival game which Ryan probably ruined for Playstation only fans.

https://iforum-sg.c.hihonor...

ironmonkey823d ago

It doesn't suck for any ps fans at all but if it makes you feel better, Xbox is still a dead last console.

Godmars290823d ago

"Yeah, I´m talking about the same Microsoft that brought back Killer Instinct, Battletoads, Age of Empires, Flight Simulator and now is bringing back Fable and Perfect Dark."

???

Killer Instinct was YEARS ago, Battleoads wasn't that well received and last heard, ignoring the war and flight sims, Fable and Perfect Dark are in development hell. Several levels of development hell.

That is, what should be, the main concern - MS has MAJOR issues when it comes to making games.

Obscure_Observer823d ago

@Godmars290

"Killer Instinct was YEARS ago, Battleoads wasn't that well received and last heard, ignoring the war and flight sims, Fable and Perfect Dark are in development hell. Several levels of development hell."

Dude, you don´t know NOTHING about MS´s first party development. And yet, you try and pass like some informed person when you reality you resort to lies and misinformation. Smdh.

Here´s some FACTS for you:

Killer Instinct:

Iron Galaxy in 2021

https://www.windowscentral....

Iron Galaxy in 2023

https://www.irongalaxystudi...

Xbox brought Iron Galaxy BACK and the KI fans and whole FG community are beyond excited now they know that Killer Instinct is here to stay!

"Battleoads wasn't that well received"

Which doesn´t mean sh!t! Xbox making new games from classic and dormant IPs is the subject of the discussion I was having with 10M3daysorFail. MS brought Battletoads back! Facts!

"Fable and Perfect Dark are in development hell. Several levels of development hell."

How Fable is in development hell when Playground Games REVEALED the game in June? So WTF are you talking about?

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Anna Megill finished her writing duties as narrative lead last July and Playground Games just hired a high profile producer, Baldur’s Gate 3 producer Ryan Clark

https://wccftech.com/baldur...

Perfect Dark? Yeah, It might be the case with this one. I heard that Darrell Gallagher has a top–down approach when most studios nowadays develop games with a bottom-top design.

Still, The Initiative is a newly created first party studio build from the ground up, so people will headbutt at first until perfect symmetry and synergy are fully built.

"That is, what should be, the main concern - MS has MAJOR issues when it comes to making games."

BS! Any major company faces issues developing games! Perfect Dark is facing problems with development, yeah, but the development continues and no single developer was fired or the game put on hiatus. Which reminds me of Nintendo´s Metroid Prime and Naughty Dog´s Factions 2.

Aren´t those games in development hell? Don´t bother and answer. That was rhetorical question.

You always talk uninformed crap with no sources to back up your fallacious claims. Next time, bring your sources or don´t even bother and reply back to me.

Have a good week.

Godmars290821d ago

"Any major company faces issues developing games!"

The key point you're willfully ignoring is consistency. And MS/Xbox has consistently had issues releasing much less making games.

+ Show (12) more repliesLast reply 821d ago
porkChop824d ago

COD is staying on PS at least. If you're talking about all the other franchises, yeah, those should have stayed multiplatform as well and it sucks that they likely won't. Jim Ryan didn't fight for those though, he only gave a shit about COD.

-Foxtrot824d ago

Personally I think during the whole court case they should have said during the 10 year COD deal "at least give us the Crash and Spyro IPs, you guys aren't going to use them, you hardly do platformers, what's there to loose here"

So when the Activision deal passed and they were given the 10 year COD deal then something would have came from Crash and Spyro.

porkChop824d ago

Agreed. MS now has Crash, Spyro, Banjo, and Conker. They don't really make those games as much as I'd like them to. Handing Crash and Spyro over probably wouldn't have been a big deal.

Ethereal824d ago

God. This is such PR bullshit. You forgot to add more.... microtransactions and less titles for the competition.

Hofstaderman824d ago

What did the Bethesda acquisition do exactly?
What will the Activision acquisition do exactly?

These are rhetorical questions.

phoenixwing824d ago

Microsoft can't manage the studios they started with now all of a sudden you expect them to run abk?

Crows90824d ago (Edited 824d ago )

Xbox is the golden boy in the industry if you believe the blind fanboyism.

They've yet to offer a single new game to their players. All they're offering so far are games that they would've already received. However, those of us without fanboy glasses can actually look at how Xbox is managing these "new" games...most have underwhelmed tremendously. Starfield and redfall for instance...

Show all comments (43)
50°

Kotick claims lawsuit objecting to MS-Activision deal was "tied to Embracer's desire to boost sales"

Former CEO describes lawsuit filed by Swedish pension fund as a "collateral attack" on Activision Blizzard.

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gamesindustry.biz
OpenGL1d 4h ago

Yeah, the Microsoft deal has DEFINITELY worked out for everyone.

galgor1d 1h ago

Can this mother fucker just get lost already

PRIMORDUS1d ago

He belongs in here ⚰️, hopefully sooner than later.

MrDead9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

Kotick Made $155 million from MS in the buyout, the little b*tch needs to stop whining. Thanks to this Microslop deal and massive industry consolidation thousands upon thousands of devs and other workers lost their livelihoods. This greedy piggie pervert needs shut up and f-off.

50°

Larry Hyrb (Major Nelson) announces he has been laid off by Unity

Larry writes: "As many of you have been with me during my career in gaming, I'd like to share personal news. Like many in the gaming space recently, I've been laid off from @Unity"

darthv722d ago

...me thinks a switch was involved.

1Victor2d ago

That’s some major layoffs best of luck to him and the rest that got laid off. It always hurt specially more before or during holidays.

The_Blue1d 18h ago

Cool, sucks to see him go!

elJoker51d 10h ago

Met Larry a couple times. Sucks to hear he got laid off. Real standup guy who just loves gaming and the industry.

SegaSaturn6691d 4h ago

Dude finally got laid at 58 years old. Bit of a weird flex but im still happy for the guy!🥂

30°

New owner of GOG discusses taking on Steam, the devil of DRM, and following in Nightdive's footsteps

"We see DRM as something which can make the life of a legal customer more difficult," says Michał Kiciński, "so there is no reason to keep it alive."

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz