Depends. Theres no guarentee it would be monetarily worthwhile in the long term. Like CoD on switch…its an offering to close the deal by taking it out of the monopoly conversation. If CoD would make money on Nintendo platforms, Activision would have done it already.
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Yeah Microsoft ain’t removing Call of Duty, even if they wanted too, they’ll get dragged over the coals for saying they won’t and then doing it when it comes to buying another company. Just look at the regulators already trying to do it now with Bethesda.
So if the deal doesn’t happen, I doubt MS will try to get a big pub anytime soon. Not much compares to ABK, that’s true, but I feel we got lucky with Zenimax.
Does make me wonder about their next move. That insane amount of money could be used someplace else.
if it fails they will just pick up the “smaller” studios they have put on hold for this acquisition
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If they were going to reject they would have done so already, there’s no point in waiting until July 17th
NZ is absolutely waiting to see how the FTC trial plays out
Well, surely this will help…
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Xbox has winning arguments but my take away from statements like this, is that Activision is going to be basically status quo but now on Gamepass.
Any hopes of Xbox creating synergy with Activision is fading for me.
I wanted to see backwards compatible Activision games added… can’t do that, might anger regulators/PlayStation.
I wanted to see StarCraft and Warcraft branch out to Xbox with spin-offs and remakes…. can’t do that, might anger regulators/PlayStation.
I wanted mascot fighters, party games, kart racers, and other cameos featuring Xbox’s huge stable of ip… can’t do that, might anger regulators/PlayStation.
I wanted Tony Hawk and Crash Bandicoot to not only get new exclusives for Xbox / PC, but to also become front and center mascots for the brand… can’t do that, might anger regulators/PlayStation.
I guess my point is that this regulator meddling has cemented and locked in the status quo. Dormant ips will be dormant. The call of duty saltmines will continue unabated. PC only brands will remain PC only brands. Basically a huge stable of IP with zero synergy. Such a waste of potential and frankly my excitement has been nullified considerably. Yes Call Of Duty in Gamepass is cool but was that worth putting a hault to any other acquisitions? Acquiring Crystal Dynamics, IO, People can Fly, the list goes on.
Really the silver lining is that Xbox will now thrive. Eventually the smoke will clear from the Activision acquisition and Xbox can grow its stable of developers again so the future will be bright, even if Xbox stays quiet for 2-3 years. I can’t really be mad at Xbox either, this will absolutely grow Gamepass subscribers, Activision sort of fell into their lap, one thing I don’t think Xbox expected was all this regulatory/PlayStation pushback. Ultimately Xbox got the deal passed, just not the way many of us probably envisioned when it was first announced.
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Nothing at all that is said in court today changes any of their plans in any way.
This isn’t about making a deal it’s fighting against a PI.
The bottom line is that regardless of regulators Xbox weren’t going to make ABK content exclusive in the immediate future anyway.
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Yes and no. These are basically public statements that they need to abide by or face regulatory consequences down the line.
The bottom line is Activision might just be a “grey area” for Xbox and the easy path will be to maintain the current status quo. The only change could be Activision now goes to Gamepass.
No they are not. These are not promises. They aren’t a deal with regulators.
They are also very vague things without details.
You are reading far too much into anything said today if you think it actually matters once a decision has been made,
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Shades of Grey
Microsoft will want to stay off the radar, something, something, “big tech bad”
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Hearing starts at 11 I heard.
Should have gotten Cody Rhodes pop.
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None of that relates to today and none of it really is relevant to what is said today.
Microsoft in buying ABK never claimed it was a primarily exclusive driven buy. Their focus was always on gamepass.
Do I think IF they complete the acquisition we will get exclusive content from their studios? I’d say without doubt. Do I think it will be a lot or happen in the next 5 years? No chance. But it never was going to.
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My thoughts are new IPs will go exclusive other IPs stay the same also why can’t they bring Starcraft and Warcraft to Xbox exclusive. Those games have no legacy on PlayStation.
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Yes getting Call of Duty on gamepass is worth more than the studio’s you listed combined lol. You fell to realize this is more than just games. it’s about Microsoft wanting to put pressure on Apple and Google app stores. The studios you listed will not help Microsoft with due respect. Besides you get Prototype, Gun, True Crime, Spyro, Crash and maybe Tony Hawk on gamepass ect so it’s not that bad.
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Microsoft end goal is mobile and getting a bigger foothold in PC. PlayStation and Nintendo dominate consoles but neither dominate mobile or PC. Microsoft sees growth and potential there. I also think being 3rd place in consoles and having Steam being the biggest PC storefront is great cover for Microsoft. They can’t be accused of having a monopoly and risk fines and investigations for having Bangers. It will be curious to see the future of Bethesda and ABK under Microsoft and how much of their games land on PlayStation and Nintendo.
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Blizzard has a new IP. I would say we hear it announced exclusively next year. Xbox has sort of had all these new studios focus on new IPs and later on existing ones when it’s easier to accept. ID and Machine games are not making another Doom or Wolfenstein games but on new IPs that can be exclusive. Also, rumor is Infinity Ward is working on a new Sci-fi IP which again could be exclusive. Old IPs like True Crime will just be renamed like Sleeping Dogs.
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Don’t be naive. CoD aside, nothing will come to other platforms.
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