Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard

They deserve each other.

This should give hope for Diablo IV fans.

Corp incorporated.

this feels like the right move for both sides, but as a gamer I'm pretty apathetic. don't really have much emotional investment in any of those IP's anymore, if I ever did

Overwatch is about the only thing on that list that remotely appeals to me

Quote from Zarsky

25 minutes ago, Zarsky said: I don't care much for any of their IPs, but I'm getting a bit worried about this insane consolidation.

At this rate Microsoft will soon own like half of the AAA game industry. ?

do you think it is possible MC would buy Valve next or no?

curious

valve is private so can't really be bought unless they decide to sell, which would be crazy.

fair enough

Quote from Zarsky

5 hours ago, Zarsky said: I don't think Valve is available for purchase...they have a steady nearly passive cash flow...why sell?

Pretty much.

Also, seems like Bobby's challenges were a real catalyst to this deal happening.

https://twitter.com/benfritz/status/1483627639201878021

Disney will own all of the tv and film land while Microsoft will own all of the game land.

Wow ?

Doesn’t affect me as I don’t play anything apart the occasional COD campaign on super discount.

But it will be a massive motivator in general to get the Game Pass (are they gonna up the price?).

~

Funny is like they waited for Take-2 to make the biggest purchase in gaming, just to top them off right after.

And to think people used to complain because Explorer was pre-installed on windows.

Microsoft would probably next would buy EA ik they're hella huge but like.

This does leave Valve with a lot of leverage to speak with Sony about exclusives.

Sony’s stock has been hit by skepticism about their ability to compete. If I were Gabe I would ask Sony for a ton of upfront money to develop a Portal or Team Fortress sequel (for example), as a PC/PlayStation exclusive. Not that funding ever seems to be a problem for Valve, but who doesn’t love free money?

Sony has a stronger track record in games and a stronger incentive to succeed. Then again, pissing Microsoft off might jeopardize the whole PC ecosystem, which is Valve’s bread and butter.

Valve usually just tries to get along with everybody, so it’s probably not their style to begin with. Maybe that’s the smartest move, but I bet Sony would bend over backwards for them…

Quote from FMPONE

7 hours ago, FMPONE said: If I were Gabe I would ask Sony for a ton of upfront money to develop a Portal or Team Fortress sequel (for example), as a PC/PlayStation exclusive

Not that they would never do it, but it seems unlikely that Valve would ever make another console game again. They were pretty open in the past about how much the console live system messes with how they like to develop games. (of note is how Valve was forced to charge for left 4 dead content updates that the pc got for free). Theyve also been open about how developing games for the ps3 and the strained relationship they had with Sony during that time basically solidified their opinion that consoles were not worth it.

At the same time maybe in this situation, Sony has learned to stop being a pain in the ass with devs after a lot of missed opportunities and Valve could see value in the PSVR system as a way to get VR games more mainstream attention. But its also doubtful that the same company thats working on BCI believing it to be the future, would go back to what they essentially consider out-moded hardware.

Quote from fewseb

25 minutes ago, fewseb said: Not that they would never do it, but it seems unlikely that Valve would ever make another console game again. They were pretty open in the past about how much the console live system messes with how they like to develop games. (of note is how Valve was forced to charge for left 4 dead content updates that the pc got for free). Theyve also been open about how developing games for the ps3 and the strained relationship they had with Sony during that time basically solidified their opinion that consoles were not worth it.

At the same time maybe in this situation, Sony has learned to stop being a pain in the ass with devs after a lot of missed opportunities and Valve could see value in the PSVR system as a way to get VR games more mainstream attention. But its also doubtful that the same company thats working on BCI believing it to be the future, would go back to what they essentially consider out-moded hardware.

While all of that is true, we are a long way removed from the PS3 era, and although I have not owned a console (other than the Switch) in many, many years, it seems like there is a lot more respect and understanding of "games as a service" these days.

Granted, I haven't even heard of a reliable method to actually buy a PS5 right now, so my investment in Sony products is extremely low.

Will MC buy Ubisoft ? Or Tencent ? Who's next ?

Nah, Ubisoft isn't expensive enough.

Quote from El Moroes

4 hours ago, El Moroes said: Will MC buy Ubisoft ? Or Tencent ? Who's next ?

Definitely not Tencent lmao, why would the Chinese Government want to hand away one of their paths to world domination?