Paramount and Skydance are expected to merge according to the latest news. David Ellison would become the new CEO of Paramount Global and current CEO Bob Bakish would leave the company.
What do you think ?
This merger makes a lot of sense, but it probably won’t solve Paramount’s problems. I have the impression that, like Warner Bros and Discovery, they are trying to become more attractive on the market in order to be acquired by a giant.
I still think acquiring Paramount Skydance would make a lot of sense for Apple if they want to grow their business. Another interesting option would be for Paramount Skydance to merge with Warner Bros Discovery in order to be able to compete with the biggest players in the industry (Disney, Universal, Netflix, Prime).
I expect a lot of movement in the industry in the coming years. I’m curious to see what the industry will look like in 10 years.
Yes Skydance is the most logical choice, but it probably won’t save Paramount. I expect another merger in the coming years, but as long as Sony doesn’t touch it everything is fine.
Yes Apple is the most logical choice, it would be very interesting for Apple TV +, but unfortunately, no guarantee that Apple want to invest so much in this industry. I like Paramount, and Apple produces quality programs, so I like the idea.
After a series exclusives were released by sony that are not accessible on Xbox (although not receiving very positive reviews), and after 4 games from Xbox being released on ps5, I think it’s a good time to announce another publisher acquisition.
What happened in the first half of 2024 should be solid enough to convince regulatory institutions.
As far as i can tell Microsoft has announced acquisitions in January, beginning or end of the year so I doubt they would be announcing any acquisition maybe partnerships unless they have something cooking in Japan considering Aaron Greenberg was in Japan in the community indie showcase.
I firmly believe that Microsoft’s long game is to try to buy Steam whenever Gabe finally call it quits and then exit the console business entirely, with the exception of some kind of Steambox device for TVs that’s really just a PC with a friendly user face.
Steam pretty much has this now between the Steamdeck and big picture mode so it wouldn’t take much work. That would track with the current rumors about the next Xbox that MS definitely wants to move in this direction.
It would be interesting to see MS leave the console wars totally behind and let the Sony and Nintendo acolytes to fight over a shrinking market.
It definitely would be an interesting situation and something I think MS would jump at (if they thought they could get it through the regulators).
There would definitely be lots of hurdles.
Would Gabe ever want to sell to MS after leaving there? When he does eventually hand it over will there be some condition it must be remain independent? Who will take over - his son?
Then there’s the whole Windows / Linux Proton situation. Would they keep using Linux and Proton?
The SteamDeck is now easily my favourite ‘console’. I have been playing tonnes of games on it. The best part is I also have access to games that aren’t on Xbox, PS or Nintendo. One minute I can be playing Forza, then Spider-Man and then Ready or Not.
I imagine they would use Proton if they did aquire Valve. It’s a ready made solution that just works. I know all of this is speculative, but with MS’ new committment to supporting more devices, that means they would probably put stuff on even Droid or IOS if allowed to sell through their own store and the numbers make sense. MS now has Droid and IOS versions of their productivity software and native offerings of mobile games such as COD and Diablo.
Using Proton, which MS would presumably have some level of ownership stake in if they bought Valve doesn’t seem like that big of a stretch. I think the days of Windows being the tail that wags the dog are over.
With Fallout on Amazon doing really well, Microsoft needs to get out a new Fallout game as soon as possible. So seeing as obsidian is busy with Avowed and then The Outer Worlds, Microsoft should buy Behaviour Interactive.
They worked on Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter and they would be a smart pick to make the next Fallout, this way Bethesda can work on Elder Scrolls. I understand if they were to work on Fallout right now they wouldn’t be able get it out by the time the second season of Fallout comes out, but it could launch with the third season.
According to some theories Warner abandoned negotiations with Paramount because they still want to merge with Universal (Comcast), but I don’t see any universe in which this merger could be authorized by the regulators lol
A merger between Universal and Paramount would be very interesting and would be more likely to happen, but I don’t have the impression that Comcast has shown any interest in acquiring Paramount. They have recently had discussions to merge their SVOD platforms (Peacock and Paramount+) and I think that is what will likely happen after the merger between Paramount and Skydance. They have already done this in around twenty European countries by creating Sky Showtime.
I still think Warner is an attractive option for Microsoft. This could potentially be the next big acquisition. If it’s not Warner it might be Square Enix. In both cases, these are great opportunities for Xbox.
Yes Steam would make a ton of sense for Microsoft and I think that’s their ultimate goal for Microsoft Gaming. If it happens it will probably be several years from now and with some concessions. Until then Microsoft can still develop Xbox with some acquisitions, because it will be much more difficult once Steam is acquired.
I believe they are still on good terms and Microsoft is probably one of the best candidates to buy Steam without destroying it. It will probably take time and it will require some concessions, but I think it could happen.
I don’t expect Microsoft to buy Remedy anymore, it’s a shame because the games would run well with GP.
Behavior is a huge support studio that doesn’t have the skills to make a good Fallout game. I think a Fallout CRPG by inXile would be a good idea, but BGS would need to recruit and create a second team (with veterans) to be able to work on two games at the same time. They could probably acquire Double Eleven (working on 76) and merge it into BGS, but I think they will be more selective and hire on a case by case basis. ZOS could probably help them and develop the game with them.
Double Eleven has less employees than Behavior, so maybe both work on the next spin-off and then Bethesda can make the next game after Elder Scrolls.
As for a Fallout game from inXile, I’d be down for that, but I see them wanting to do another wasteland instead and maybe having their own version of having Wasteland become an open world game like Fallout did, under Bethesda.
Behavior has over 1300 employees and very mixed reviews on the games they have created. I don’t think they’re capable of developing a Fallout spin-off and I don’t think there’s any chance that Todd Howard would put them in charge of developing the game. Double Eleven has around 300 employees and maybe a best experience with the Fallout IP. This would be a quick way to make BGS bigger, but again I highly doubt Todd Howard would go for this solution.
I think the best thing to do is to take the time to hire qualified employees and create a second team at BGS.
InXile or ZOS could work on a spin-off, but unfortunately I don’t think they will get the chance. I don’t know if InXile will continue to work on Wasteland. Honestly, I think it’s the perfect studio to develop a new Shadowrun game, don’t you think?
I can honestly see this happening I’ve seen Gabe say a lot of good things about XBOX lately, he was also a former Microsoft employee, he did live talks with Phil Spencer, Microsoft is one if not the biggest publisher on Steam (although I don’t understand why Minecraft is still not on Steam)
If I noticed something with the recent acquisitions of Microsoft it is that very often they are linked together they acquired InXile and Obsdian (Interplay and Black Isle) after they acquired Bethesda which owns the Fallout IPs but also ID Software which created the ID Tech engine which was given to Gabe Nawel to create source (without ID Software Valve would not even exist) Microsoft seems to assemble a puzzle and bring together in one place the origins of video games they did not happy to buy only recent Studios but Studios which have more than 30 years of experience at the origin of the creation of entire genres of video games (the one who is in charge of acquisitions at Microsoft knows the history of games very well video and Valve is definitely one of them)
I don’t know if you’ve read my past comments or not, yet if you have, you definitely know I’d Love to see Shadowrun again.
I truly want to see it as a game like Cyberpunk 2077, which is an open world, RPG, shooter, in either first or third person.
As for another studio working on Bethesda IPs, I think this an area where Microsoft should go and not listen to what Todd thinks or wants. They, being Microsoft bought Zenimax and should want to see games like Elder Scrolls or Fallout come out sooner, over getting a new one after a decade.
I understand there is potential to hurt the IP if more people work on them, but it will be around 15 years once the next Elder Scrolls comes and in truth a huge gap between new titles hurts the IP too. I’m not saying bring out a new game every three years, you could do it in five if you have another studio or two.
By doing this you could even have a scenario where another Starfield could come out a year after a new Elder Scrolls or Fallout and they would have at minimum five years of game development.
I know it is rumored Virtous Studios is remaking Oblivion, so would it be smart for Microsoft to buy them or another support studio, like Keywords Studios, as a support studio?
I like the idea of fostering talent and taking time to nurture them into being great RPG, game developers, yet that takes time, which leads to more long delays in getting a new sequel.
I honestly don’t know what the best option is, but I don’t think making people wait ten years for Fallout after Elder Scrolls and then another ten years for a sequel to Starfield is the right option either.
You have no idea what company could come out with the next thing and blow your company away. I hate to turn this into a rivalry, I’m not, just using it as an example, CD Projekt struck it big after Witcher 3 and even though Witcher 2 was a good game and to a lesser-known extent Witcher 1, CDPR never gained mass appeal until Witcher 3.
So what I’m saying and I’m probably doing a bad job at what I’m trying to explain is they definitely need to expand, CDPR, is making companies work on remakes (Witcher 1), Witcher 4, Cyberpunk 2078 & one on a new IP.
Bethesda has around 500 employees and if I’m not mistaken CDPR has around 1200, I know apples to oranges, yet Bethesda still needs to expand and as a Bethesda fan I Hate these long waits between new games.
I agree with your opinion, however I just wanted to touch on this part.
In Todd’s recent interview with Kinda Funny he did discuss this and mentioned they are working on something to try and release games more often (can’t remember his exact words).
I think Bethesda will always want creative control therefore even if they outsourced work to multiple teams they would still be bottlenecked by capacity unless they can increase the size of Bethesda too, but by how much I guess is the golden question.
Even CDPR doesn’t release new games very often with their huge workforce.
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