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[NickFire]

Yeah I'm done. Regulators are going to approve the deal with baby slaps worth of behavioral remedies. Microsoft will feel emboldened to make further large gaming publisher acquisitions. Other big tech companies will do the same. Sony and even Nintendo will need to make publisher acquisitions of their own now.

Love how regulators just signed a death warrant for the gaming market. All this mass consolidation is going to lead to another crash and unlike the "Atari" one, actually global and much bigger. We're going to get less games, not more. We're going to see content put in the vault to artificially boost value (just look at what Disney is doing today with so much of the Fox content they acquired), when we probably would have seen new installments in that content if those companies weren't acquired. Ironically, this is going to lead to more closed ecosystems, not open ones.

I would have been cool with at least a COD/Activision divestiture. I was never flat-out against the deal otherwise. But just wait until Microsoft starts violating these behavioral remedies and laughs away as they pay the fine...if they're even required to pay them. Oh well.

Welp gaming was a nice hobby to have while it lasted. But I don't see this industry not crashing and burning 10 years from now. Enjoy it while you can.

I fully expect gamers to suffer long term from consolidation in both pricing and quality. But I'm not predicting a crash of any sort. Everything else that's fun will still cost a lot more and/or get you in trouble these days.

 

[Topher]

Ferguson is speaking as it's right now. Right now ABK is independent of Microsoft and none of their games is coming to gamepass. Once Microsoft acquires them Microsoft decides, not Ferguson. It's common sense.

Yes, but Ferguson knows full well what is going on and he still has more insight than anyone else. Not like anyone from Microsoft is saying otherwise.

Right now all we have to go by is what Ferguson is saying. Of course, Ferguson could be saying that just to ensure pre-orders don't take a big hit. But yeah, everything can change once the deal is done.

 

[graywolf323]

They don't need ABK. MS just bought them to try and be more relevant. ABK went to MS to be bought and MS accepted.

what? no they didn’t, we know from their own releases that MS approached them not the other way around

why do people keep pushing this lie to make MS out to be the ‘good guys’?

 

[Thirty7ven]

Sony has plenty of big IPs. They don't need to respond.

Oh yes they do, they have nowhere near the size of IPs of MS after this deal. Gamepass is going to skyrocket.

Sony can just pray every Sunday and hope MS doesn’t decide to turn PlayStation into the next Walkman.

 

[phil_t98]

Great news, but expected by anyone with an ounce of business sense.
Get my Call Of Duty on Gamepass Phil as soon as possible, thanks.

Who is that on twitter saying that?

 

[feynoob]

So you'd replace arrogant Sony with an arrogant Microsoft?

Narrator: they won't .

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

It’s done then. What a face turn by the CMA.

Yeah seems like the moneyhat man must have showed up because this is a complete 180 from their original findings

 

[Topher]

This is irrelevant. Most people in the world consume information on phones and tablets.

Yes, phone and tablets are irrelevant to desktop OS market share.

 

[DrFigs]

i wonder why steam isn't more concerned? shouldn't they be worried bout the xbox store also taking their marketshare?

 

[graywolf323]

Oh yes they do, they have nowhere near the size of IPs of MS after this deal. Gamepass is going to skyrocket.

Sony can just pray every Sunday and hope MS doesn’t decide to turn PlayStation into the next Walkman.

even before this purchase Microsoft honestly had some of the most valuable IPs in gaming they’re just terrible at managing them

Halo
Doom
Elder Scrolls
Fallout
Gears of War

is there any reason why they’re getting demolished by Sony’s newer IPs besides incompetence?

i wonder why steam isn't more concerned? shouldn't they be worried bout the xbox store also taking their marketshare?

probably assume they’ve survived others trying to go their own way before (CoD being exclusive to Battle.net for ~5 years, etc.) so that this won’t be any different, but we’ll see if Microsoft tries another GFWL disaster

 

[LordCBH]

Unfortunate. But not entirely unexpected. One of the worlds largest corporations, which was limited only by its incompetence, gets its way again.

 

[DrFigs]

even before this purchase Microsoft honestly had some of the most valuable IPs in gaming they’re just terrible at managing them

Halo
Doom
Elder Scrolls
Fallout
Gears of War

is there any reason why they’re getting demolished by Sony’s newer IPs besides incompetence?


probably assume they’ve survived others trying to go their own way before (CoD being exclusive to Battle.net for ~5 years, etc.) so that this won’t be any different, but we’ll see if Microsoft tries another GFWL disaster

they launched a really bad product in 2013 and never recovered

 

[Riky]

It just takes one ounce of business sense to immediately conclude that a $70b acquisition by a trillion dollar company could lead to absolutely no potential immediate or future market/consumer harm in every region of the world?

I didn't think so, looks like the regulators agree. You only have to look at the market share in this industry where there are other huge players like Sony and Nintendo to see that this deal needed to happen, it actually brings more competition and will benefit gamers.
Congratulations to Phil Spencer who is really delivering on his vision after taking over Xbox, it was a long road ahead but he made it happen.
This is going to be a great few years for gaming and gamers.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Obnoxious times ahead of us huh... Just thinking about all this chest pumping ms gonna be doing is gag effect inducing.


There it is.


Oh another one.


I'm gonna be sick.

Can’t wait for Phil to say

“This deal was always about bringing exclusive games to Xbox”

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

even before this purchase Microsoft honestly had some of the most valuable IPs in gaming they’re just terrible at managing them

Halo
Doom
Elder Scrolls
Fallout
Gears of War

is there any reason why they’re getting demolished by Sony’s newer IPs besides incompetence?

Well for one, none of those games except halo/gears have had any releases since being acquired

 

[Punished Miku]

Oh yes they do, they have nowhere near the size of IPs of MS after this deal. Gamepass is going to skyrocket.

Sony can just pray every Sunday and hope MS doesn’t decide to turn PlayStation into the next Walkman.

The NicheStation

 

[NickFire]

probably not Microsoft but it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the price of GamePass after this closes

I’d be highly surprised if it stays $9.99 ($14.99 for GPU) for long


so did Microsoft without buying ABK, so why do they need ABK exactly?

Gamepass is going up sooner than later. But there may still be a cushion for growth built in that keeps it from going up too much at first. Entirely possible they just drop all the deals for a while and increase later.

I am predicting COD becomes the first game over 70 for a base edition. And it will be attributable to inflation, which people will argue about whether that is genuine or not. And the argument won't matter because if a regulator questions the cost increase then MS will just say its the same price everywhere, despite the game being unaffordable for anyone but MS to include in streaming. But life will still go on.

 

[Kvally]

Oh yes they do, they have nowhere near the size of IPs of MS after this deal. Gamepass is going to skyrocket.

Sony can just pray every Sunday and hope MS doesn’t decide to turn PlayStation into the next Walkman.

Nah. MS doesn’t have Sony studios like Naughty Dog, Polyphony Digital, GG, etc. It’s the games that sell.

 

[feynoob]

Let the consolidation happen.
MS has gamepass and Sony has PS+.
My poor ass would buy both systems, and I would just sub to their service.

I stopped caring about the industry once they allowed mtx on their games.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Oh yes they do, they have nowhere near the size of IPs of MS after this deal. Gamepass is going to skyrocket.

Sony can just pray every Sunday and hope MS doesn’t decide to turn PlayStation into the next Walkman.

They did call them the next Blockbuster. But oh you know, just non hostile mega corp things.

 

[ManaByte]

 

[MDSLKTR]

Did Lulu write the Activision statement?

 

[Bernardougf]

Starfield was never released for PlayStation. Nor was that thrilling game Ect.

Future COD werent released on PS either champ ... but keep that straw strong

 

[Tomeru]

Can’t wait for Phil to say

“This deal was always about bringing exclusive games to Xbox”

From the makers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Skyrim - Microsoft is proud......

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

Nah. MS doesn’t have Sony studios like Naughty Dog, Polyphony Digital, GG, etc. It’s the games that sell.

They have BGS, arkane, obsidian etc. But yes the average quality of playstation studios is currently better

 

[Thirty7ven]

Nah. MS doesn’t have Sony studios like Naughty Dog, Polyphony Digital, GG, etc. It’s the games that sell.

You should look at sales numbers.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I fully expect gamers to suffer long term from consolidation in both pricing and quality. But I'm not predicting a crash of any sort. Everything else that's fun will still cost a lot more and/or get you in trouble these days.

Dunno, I can't just imagine how a crash doesn't eventually happen. Companies acquiring all these IP and content create a reality where they actually don't need to rely on certain other IP they own nearly as much, so that IP can just...go to the vault. So already you are ending up with less games. And realistically, a single entity owning all these IP that were once in the hands of distinct independent 3P publishers, means there will be less funding to go around. So again that's less games.

And as you said, pricing and quality issues with what content does come out can also become a big issue, because if there are less competitors around to provide content, there are less market incentives in terms of actual competition to ensure the quality is at its peak and the prices at their fairest because...who else are consumers going to actually turn to for alternatives?

I think there's going to be an implosion in this industry by 2033 if the mass consolidation really jets off from here. Keep in mind, other Big Tech companies have been watching this, too. Now they have a green light to buy big publishers of their own and offer similar behavioral concessions as Microsoft (if even that), and expect approval, else they'll sue (and win). This is going to kick off the domino chain.

The salt and fear mongering begin

Sure OK. Excuse me while I'm not wetting myself and shaking my pom-poms for a $2 trillion conglomerate getting their way and consolidating a massive $69 billion 3P games publisher into their fold.

 

[feynoob]

Those horny bastards.
Why can't they hold down like men?

 

[Kilau]

At least Sony can fall back on Superman.

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

Dunno, I can't just imagine how a crash doesn't eventually happen. Companies acquiring all these IP and content create a reality where they actually don't need to rely on certain other IP they own nearly as much, so that IP can just...go to the vault. So already you are ending up with less games. And realistically, a single entity owning all these IP that were once in the hands of distinct independent 3P publishers, means there will be less funding to go around. So again that's less games.

And as you said, pricing and quality issues with what content does come out can also become a big issue, because if there are less competitors around to provide content, there are less market incentives in terms of actual competition to ensure the quality is at its peak and the prices at their fairest because...who else are consumers going to actually turn to for alternatives?

I think there's going to be an implosion in this industry by 2033 if the mass consolidation really jets off from here. Keep in mind, other Big Tech companies have been watching this, too. Now they have a green light to buy big publishers of their own and offer similar behavioral concessions as Microsoft (if even that), and expect approval, else they'll sue (and win). This is going to kick off the domino chain.



Sure OK. Excuse me while I'm not wetting myself and shaking my pom-poms for a $2 trillion conglomerate getting their way and consolidating a massive $69 billion 3P games publisher into their fold.

You can be mad at the acquisition without assuming it's going to completely destroy gaming forever, seems like a massive exaggeration

 

[Ozriel]

The PS5 version will play on PS6 so it will have parity with the Series X's version

You think Microsoft isn’t going to have a next gen console?

I know ... I was been sarcastic ... this argument that COD sells a lot and therefore Ms wont take it off PS is ridiculous as we just saw this happen with starfield and etc

World of difference between a one-and-done single player game that’s expected to sell maybe 20 million units over several years and a multiplayer game that sells more than that every year + microtransaction revenue.

There’s no logical basis of comparison between Starfield and Call of Duty.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Let the consolidation happen.
MS has gamepass and Sony has PS+.
My poor ass would buy both systems, and I would just sub to their service.

I stopped caring about the industry once they allowed mtx on their games.

You won't have an industry to care about in 10 years. "Let the consolidation happen" what a wet fart of a statement.

You know what I'm gonna start a petition for Microsoft to buy Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Bugatti, Porsche/Audi so I can get access to my favorite supercars for a cheap-ass $10/month subscription fee. I'm sure I'll still appreciate the value and artistry of those cars at the cost of a McDonald's meal. Surely.

You can be mad at the acquisition without assuming it's going to completely destroy gaming forever, seems like a massive exaggeration

I'm not mad at the acquisition. I'm upset with the implied ramifications of the acquisition in the state it is being approved.

Regardless, I don't see much long-term good coming from this given it's going to kick off a gold rush of industry consolidation in the years to come. I don't think it's going to be sustainable.

 

[Tomeru]

You should look at sales numbers.

Now we will see for sure, don't worry

 

[DeepEnigma]

At least Sony can fall back on Superman.

And more 3rd party IPs like Bloodborne.

 

[Punished Miku]

You won't have an industry to care about in 10 years.

MS wins again. Can't be held to a 10 year deal if the industry isn't here in 10 years.

 

[RoboFu]

Future COD werent released on PS either champ ... but keep that straw strong

You are talking about one fictional game way in the future in a long series and I am grasping at straws?

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Phil Spencer who is really delivering on his vision

Please.

Convincing microsoft leadership to spend 70 billion in a massive acquisition is not precisely a grand vision.

Because buy cod + blizzard and deny them to rivals is the kind of basic shit fanboys fantasize about.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

MS wins again. Can't be held to a 10 year deal if the industry isn't here in 10 years.

Joke's on Microsoft then. You just spent $69 billion on assets that'll be worthless in 10 years

 

[feynoob]

You won't have an industry to care about in 10 years. "Let the consolidation happen" what a wet fart of a statement.

You know what I'm gonna start a petition for Microsoft to buy Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Bugatti, Porsche/Audi so I can get access to my favorite supercars for a cheap-ass $10/month subscription fee. I'm sure I'll still appreciate the value and artistry of those cars at the cost of a McDonald's meal. Surely.



I'm not mad at the acquisition. I'm upset with the implied ramifications of the acquisition in the state it is being approved.

Regardless, I don't see much long-term good coming from this given it's going to kick off a gold rush of industry consolidation in the years to come. I don't think it's going to be sustainable.

I simply don't care about it
I can buy Xbox/PS/Nintendo/PC and play those games there.
It will just be another Tuesday , like their exclusives or timed exclusives.

 

[Punished Miku]

Joke's on Microsoft then. You just spent $69 billion on assets that'll be worthless in 10 years

"When I detonate a nuclear warhead in the atmosphere and destroy the earth, we all win."
- Phil Spencer (probably)

 

[adamsapple]

Positive news, positive results. The market will probably love this.

 

[phil_t98]

I bet Xbox fans wouldn't bother with this merger if their wasn't a subscription service. We all know why Xbox fans shill for this or want MS to buy everything in their path, because of Gamepass and nothing else.

I know this fanbase want to see the gaming industry to be fallen apart with less quality and only quantity shit.

Are you for real? Sony has their own version of gamepass and had it befor gamepass was a thing.

The movie industry is surviving and even thriving with sun services so no reason why games can’t to

 

[Kvally]

You should look at sales numbers.

We have.

 

[quest]

Please.

Convincing microsoft leadership to spend 70 billion in a massive acquisition is not precisely a grand vision.

Because buy cod + blizzard and deny them to rivals is the kind of basic shit fanboys fantasize about.

Lol playstation is still getting cod jesus people. They will still get D4. Nothing changes for a playstation gamer for years until we see new games from abk which is a ways off. I guess you lose xp boosts in COD in 2 years.

 

[Banjo64]

I didn't think so, looks like the regulators agree.

The regulators agree after reviewing thousands of internal documents submitted by the involved parties and by speaking to third parties over a period of 9 months (in the CMA’s case). I don’t think you can compare that to ‘having an ounce of business sense’.

You only have to look at the market share in this industry where there are other huge players like Sony and Nintendo to see that this deal needed to happen, it actually brings more competition and will benefit gamers.

The market share in the UK is nearly 50/50 in respect of PS and Xbox and has straddled that line since the 360 gen. I’m sure being from the UK you yourself know that very well.

I fail to see how this deal needed to happen when Microsoft already own more studios than PS or Nintendo and own the franchises and studios behind Fallout, TES and Doom. I think what you’re saying is that this deal is needed so Microsoft can win, not compete.

 

[Roxkis_ii]

Umm, you do know Microsoft owns Windows or you gonna play on Linux?

What does my post have to do with windows??

 

[Riky]

Please.

Convincing microsoft leadership to spend 70 billion in a massive acquisition is not precisely a grand vision.

Because buy cod + blizzard and deny them to rivals is the kind of basic shit fanboys fantasize about.

I think getting anyone to spend $70 billion is far from "basic shit", bean counters don't care about a tiny proportion of fanboys.
However the vision is obviously far more than just that as Gamepass, Xcloud and the dual console strategy has proven.

 

[Dick Jones]

You think Microsoft isn’t going to have a next gen console?

I think that there is a PS5 version and it will jave parity with Xbox Series X. Another version will be Next Xbox only. Since COD can play on PS5 and has parity, have they lied to the CMA?

 

[splattered]

I guess this means Microsoft will now have direct access to a huge treasure trove of Activision games to add to their BC library eh?

 

[HerpDerpstreit]

Some people clearly miss GFWL and always online DRM.

I agree that GFWL was a trainwreck. Let's not pretend that always online DRM isn't used by every company out there though. Perhaps not with every title but it is utilized. Gran Turismo 7 comes to mind most recently from Sony.