Microsoft/Blizzard merger entering the end-game

General Discussion
1

No, not immediately. But we’re probably only a few weeks away. End of August at the latest.

On June 12th there was a UK Court battle at the CAT:

  • Basically 6 hours of the CMA saying they don’t want to use direct evidence from experts, with Microsoft asking for the opposite. (Text Recap - Verbal Recap)
  • Judge said they will use direct evidence from experts (Very good)
  • Catch being, Microsoft has to pay the CMAs legal bills on evidence collection, if the evidence is deemed irrelevant/inadmissible. (No big deal.)
  • Next court date is July 28th.
  • The judge wants the case to be over within 10 days after that so maybe roughly August 11th.

Also on June 12th, the USA’s FTC got spooked and immediately ran to court to get a 1 week legal blockage on the merger called a TRO, and seeking a permanent “Preliminary Injunction”.

Next is where Microsoft get really interesting options:

  • First, Microsoft is probably going to pressure the UK CAT to hurry up.
  • Or maybe just close the deal in spite of the UK.
  • Although they’d probably ask for a compromise where they don’t have ActiBliz games on Microsoft Cloud Gaming (Which isn’t going to happen any time soon anyways). And then sort out the details in a slower court case.
  • Or they just let things play out with a July 24th court hearing, which probably resolves in August. Since that provides a strong sense of legitimacy to the whole thing.

Not sure what’s going to happen, but things are heating up. With this deal getting more and more likely by the day.

That said, if Microsoft have to push the deal deadline out a bit past July 18th, they mostly just need to compromise with shareholders. And can technically extend as long as they need to, as long as shareholders don’t freak out.

That all said, we can thank the FTC/CMA a bit. They are part of the reason why Starfield is going to be so well polished at launch. Thanks for that I guess.

P.S. If anybody important at Microsoft is reading this: After you win, please let us know when we can expect Bobby Kotick to exit the company.
He’s bad for Overwatch
He’s bad for Workers
He’s bad for bringing Blizzard games back to China
He’s just generally not that good of a person in general

https://twitter.com/PostUp_SOG/status/1668796407954788353

EXTRA STUFF

And you wanna know that the FTC’s argument is?
• Microsoft would be too dominant in consoles, in a “market” that only includes Xbox and PlayStation. Despite it being 68% Playstation and only 32% Xbox.
• * And also, every other country, including UK, has already dropped the Console argument.
• That Microsoft lied to the EU regulators about making Zenimax games be exclusives. Despite the EU publicly saying this never happened. (The FTC should know better than to use obviously false information)
• The gaming equivalent of: Downloading a Netflix show, or streaming a Netflix show are two different “Markets”.
• And that the FTC magically knows Microsoft would dominate that “Market”, someday, despite Cloud Gaming dollars barely existing.
• And the vast majority of Cloud Gaming that isn’t Microsoft is basically just a “Hardware Rental service”, where you bring your own software, or play Free software. I.e. A virtual internet cafe, where you log into your private Steam account. (Which the FTC also argues is a separate “Market” for videogames)

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i dont know why this is such a big deal. nothing will change probably, you’ll just trade one rich ceo for another rich ceo

i mean i hope im wrong and overwatch gets better management but im not gonna inhale the hopium on this change

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Look at it this way.

Microsoft is a “Money in the long run” company.
Activision is a “Money in the short term” company.
And Blizzard is a “Money in the long run” company, being run by Activision Execs.

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i hope your right. i dont have indepth knowledge on how microsoft runs its video games

i just know halo isnt doing so well and dice isnt great as it use to be… its just a wait and see thing but like i said… im not hoping it will make the game better

edit: woops forgot dice is owned by ea… dont think microsoft has a part in it

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Yeah, look at the Halo series. It went from the FPS of the 2000s to mid all under MS.

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Halo had issues, solved it, but the hype died. But they are rebooting it in the hyper realistic Unreal Engine 5.2, so that should be fine when that happens.

Redfall… just kinda sucked.

But this last weekend, Xbox basically knocked it out of the park with perhaps the best videogame showcase in the last decade. With their crown jewel being the SkyRim devs making “SkyRim in Space”, called Starfield.

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I don’t really understand the company merger politics, but I am curious to see how it’ll effect Overwatch in the long run.

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i think think thats a microsoft thing with starfield if your talking about that. thats more of a bethesda thing i think… right?

does microsoft own bethesda lol and if they did i think starfield was in development/planning way before a microsoft merger.

like i said i dont have a clue

9

Yup.

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yum i can smell microsoft cancelling PVE alltogether in favor of more focus on live service side of the game

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That’s the issue for me…

I could live with Microsoft acquiring Blizzard if it meant immediate access to OW2 on cloud gaming providers…

But if we’re not even getting that then there’s no real benefit to the deal and I may as well oppose the deal…

It wouldn’t be the first time that they have dominated a market…

Just look at Windows OS…

Not an applicable analogy…

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Microsoft don’t treat games that well tbh. Halo infinite sucked. Redfall was a joke. Minecraft has been going down hill. Sea of thieves had a very rough start.

Idk, I’m not exactly hopeful if it goes through.

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I do like the updates you are providing us on this.

I think if they want to settle it faster and easier they should take a route such as this (summary).

I would say that the stuff housed at Blizzard studios with:

  • Overwatch
  • Warcraft series
  • Starcraft
  • Hearthstone
  • Diablo

I am sure they need a buyer and that it might be feasible to approach Epic Games or Crytek to take control of the Blizzard side.

For the Activision titles that they have (Call of duty) being their biggest one. They should turn it over to Microsoft and go that route. So the courts and companies cannot argue that Microsoft is a “monopoly”. This way it settles and works out.

What the CEO seams to want is an easy way out, with a big bag of money. Okay, fair. But they also bought way too many companies and that the FTC and Securities Exchange Commission should have already stepped in, years ago and said “NO”.

I will flatout say this, that Microsoft is TERRIBLE when it comes to understanding game balance and that they are not flawless technicians like they claim to be. Especially when their “Windows store” is terrible. When games have file corruption, their client doesn’t have a repair feature and half the time it won’t even recognize the games that it loaded onto the system itself.

The Windows update ports that it uses for the core operating system , are not seperate and “stand alone” from itself. So if an employer needs to block ports on their firewall to prevent people from gaming out of the windows store, it also blocks windows updates. (i know). On the other hand. If those ports are blocked. It phases out a person to use ANY of those features… (so it needs to “stand alone”) . :frowning:

Another issue is Minecraft is a major example of how badly they handled game balance. Especially since in Bedrock edition their new designs of the game have drastically ruined what minecraft was about. With tons of problems such as Over-tuned mobs, The night mobs, and mechanics that make ZERO sense. The cave system design is now a cluttered mess when it comes to “noise” used in their building algos and that basic mining is now a major pain. They wanted to create “danger” in the caves and they think that it makes the experience “immersive” when in reality it is a nuisance.

I understand that the Overwatch Devs right now are not always getting it right. But they still do a heck of a lotta better job than Microsoft’s do. :+1:

Also, if there are game issues, Microsoft NEVER replies. Support tickets I have opened have still never been answered. And that has been several YEARS, on game bugs. So yeah…

I would vouch that despite the problems we have. Microsoft would amplify these issues 1,000x more than what they are. I do agree the company needs to be sold off. But for what this game and the rest of the Gems here, our memories would be fully destroyed if Microsoft gained control of the game. I use to play Minecraft just as much as Overwatch. But after Microsoft got ahold of it and destroyed it. I cant stand the game anymore.

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Who cares? Nothing will change. Microsoft just destroyed Arcane studios, ffs. Why do people have some expectations for them?

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I was thinking more… Apple?

:face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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Having all actiblizz games on gamepass is a good enough benefit for me. Maybe I’ll get to try out D4 because I refuse to give blizz money directly.

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Overwatch is free so I don’t care about that…

And they are probably going to raise the price of Game Pass after the acquisition…

:woman_shrugging:

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I actually doubt that. Gamepass is already making them insane bank as it is and they know better than to annoy their followers after the redfall fiasco. Would be a good PR stunt to add blizz games into the pass as well. We will see how it plays out.

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That’s exactly why they are going to increase the price to make even more…

:pouting_cat:

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