I think you mean Sanctuary (Diablo) 
What a pleasure to celebrate with you. It was a long period of doubt, but it seems to be ending positively and Microsoft will now be able to continue growing to achieve its goals. Who is next? SEGA? Warner? A multitude of independent studios? The future is coming!!
3 Likes
I had a look earlier, its hilarious how upset some of them are, they were so sure it was doomed. Usual sony muppets on there desperately trying to damage control as usual.
2 Likes
4 Likes
Itâs finally done! Praise Cthulhu!
2 Likes
https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1705229283658977390?t=Pujq1eJWXwhz8i7iK8UfPw&s=19
Xbox chief Phil Spencerâs memo to employees about the CMAâs provisional approval of Microsoftâs proposed Activision Blizzard deal:
âI have an encouraging update to share about our proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Today, the UK CMA provisionally concluded that the solutions we have offered to address its concerns about the impact of the acquisition on future competition in cloud game streaming are acceptable. This is a positive development and a welcome indicator that our hard work is bringing us closer to our goal.
Prior to making its final decision on whether to clear the transaction, the CMA is soliciting feedback from the industry and public. During this time, we will continue to work toward addressing any remaining concerns and earning approval to close.
We continue to work toward concluding this process by the October 18 deadline and will share more information as we get it. Thanks to everyone whose ongoing efforts have brought us to this pointâyour hard work and dedication is very much appreciated.
Philâ
12 Likes
I donât want to jump the gun yet, so Iâll wait until the deal is officially completed because thereâs been so many twists and turns, but itâs looking really good now.
Also CMA/Cardell had a super passive aggressive response with the âthey shouldâve done this concession earlier and time was wasted because of thisâ.
Maybe they shouldâve worked with MS to begin with instead of going silent on them.
16 Likes
They have.
As per the press releaseâŚ
Blockquote To address these concerns, Microsoft has offered remedies to ensure that the terms of the sale of Activisionâs rights to Ubisoft are enforceable by the CMA. The CMA has provisionally concluded that this additional protection should resolve those residual concerns. The CMA has now opened a consultation, until 6 October, on Microsoftâs proposed remediesâŚâŚ
1 Like
Yes their whole remit is restricted to market competition. Always has been, at least regarding mergers.
1 Like
Me too. Of course, thereâs the NEXT acquisition to look forward to. (he says with a single bead of sweat weaving itâs way down over his rapidly twitching eyelid).
2 Likes
Thatâs some good info on the deal, looks to be for sure going through just finishing up a few things.
This has made me wonder⌠can Microsoft essentially buy anyone still just as long as they give up cloud rights??
They donât seem to have an issue with anything else but cloud and I think they learned very quickly that trying to go after console is a dumb idea as of today.
3 Likes
Possibly, until regulators get to the point where they think and have proof Microsoft is too big in the gaming space and are actually potentially stifling consumer interest and competition there.
2 Likes
Game Pass is about to be a monster.
The cloud divesture isnât much and I donât think cloud gaming is in any position to take off, if I have a choice of downloading the game for free, I will always take that option.
4 Likes
The way I read it is pretty much decided unless someone has concerns that causes the CMA to look into them.
1 Like
I think cloud gaming is a bit like virtual reality, i.e. something people imagined was the ânext big thingâ but in reality based on the characteristics of gaming itself (i.e. heavily influenced by input lag & performance in games like COD in particular), itâs just not something for 2023 (or probably even 2033 either).
Games arenât movies & I think regulators sometimes struggle to differentiate between these two markets. Here, the hardware matters, a lot.
Iâd get a better experience playing a low res COD on the Switch than I would on a laggy cloud connection. Thatâs just a fact.
7 Likes
Good news, itâs pretty much done unless some third party made a big fuss about.
1 Like
I donât even know if cloud rights would be as big of a deal for a lesser acquisition. As the cloud rights seemed to be an issue because of how big they perceived call of duty being. Im not sure a sega or square for instance would be as much of an issue even on the cloud end as the amount of people affected is just so much smaller. Its hard to say final fantasy 16 which is at around 3 million people would be an issue if it was exclusive to Microsoft for instance.
It is still insane that the CMA has pretty much decided that only the established big players will be players in the cloud market rather than opening up the market to new players.
But then that is what happens when you back yourself into an ideological corner.
10 Likes