They will in June! If the EU blocks it is done.
Havent ms recently started a starfield marketing campaign with Lucozade? There was even a thread about it
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They’re blocking ABK for such a ridiculous reason as the Cloud which is less than 1% of industry revenue. They would obviously find a reason to block Ubisoft (cloud, subscription…) which has already been highlighted as a major company in the industry by the FTC. We are no longer based on common sense and rational decisions. The game is rigged. I was very optimistic for ABK, but today I begin to doubt its validation.
Regarding acquisitions, SEGA is still an option, but nothing will happen until ABK closes, and if Microsoft manages to acquire SEGA, it will probably be the last publisher to join the family. However all is not lost, Microsoft can still embark on a series of acquisitions trying to acquire studios like Asobo, IOI, Crytek, Certain Affinity, People Can Fly, Remedy, Avalanche Studios, Crystal Dynamics, Eidos, Dontnod, Double Eleven, Stoic, Int.Night, Techland, Paradox, Frontier, CDPR, Oxide Games, Squanch Games, Frictional Games, Bloober Team, GSC, Mundfish, Iron Galaxy, CC2, Arc Sys, Platinum Games…
I think Microsoft have to keep fighting and being aggressive with acquisitions, even if the publishers are rejected by the authorities. The fight will be difficult and it is the determination that will pay.
I’m not sure they can buy any publisher ever. The CMA will say they have a monopoly on cloud. However Sony won’t be able to buy Square Enix because they have a monopoly on high end consoles
It’s possible. I think SEGA has a chance by betting on the size of the publisher and the low market share in Japan, but it is possible that it too will be rejected. It’s a shame, but Xbox will have to deal with it and adapt its strategy. For the moment the fight is for the validation of ABK and it would already be a relief if this deal was validated.
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Sony don’t need to buy Square. They’re allowed to money hat exclusive deals which foreclose Xbox.
It’s one of the benefits of being dominant market leader, aka using their position to snuff out competition because third party publishers need Sony’s player base.
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If Sony were to buy a Japanese publisher it would be capcom or sega. I don’t think square moves the needle much since they get most square games anyways
What I wonder is how much longer it’s gonna take though. Would they still be able to get smaller studios here and there while these appeals are going on or very likely not? I mean a publisher I get, but smaller studios? I really hope it’s not gonna take super much longe anymore, I rather see MS moving on, maybe start making big exclusive deals again too, just like the competition is doing.
No idea. It could take several months or even a whole year without certainty that the agreement will be validated then, and it is likely that Microsoft will continue to be discreet about acquisitions during this time. So yes I think it’s time to take out the checkbook and sign dozens of exclusives on big games with XGP.
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I agree. Money is not an issue for MS, so whatever a pub asks for a big game on GP, just pay it, of course there’s a limit to what can be asked. Even if they can’t get it exclusive, it’s still a huge pull towards Game Pass if they get a big third party game on it, while folks have to pay the full amount for a PS copy.
Would you kindly keep acquisition talk to the two relevant existing discussion threads and outside of this thread that is meant to focus on News and Rumors about Microsoft Game Studios.
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Ubisoft is in trouble, Microsoft should take the opportunity to sign exclusives on their next games like the remake of Splinter Cell. They should do the same with the partners they have a good relationship with: EA, Take Two, SEGA, Capcom, Embracer. Spend some cash on exclusives from the next Mass Effect, Dragon Age, BioShock, Mafia, Sonic, Dragon’s Dogma, or Embracer catalog. It’s time to be aggressive.
Sorry.
There’s still no pre-install, nor news of gone gold. I’m a bit worried about Redfall.
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Not every company makes their games going gold public information, I’m not too worried about that.
It is nuts that it’s releasing next week though lol. Virtually no hype around the game. Game would of been completely buried if it wasn’t for Gamepass.
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When does embargo lift for redfall ?
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I figured that everyone was doing their absolute best to kill any Redfall hype with all the " oh no!!! It’s 30fps" nonsense.
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Looks like despite tough challenge from Jedi Survivor, HiFiRush will remain top of the OpenCritic 2023 board
Very true! However if Square keeps having underperforming games sales and if the NFTs don’t work they might need some financial help
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Seems like they didn’t send review copies yet so i guess the game’s release will be the embargo, but considering it’s supposed to be an open world, fairy long game, nobody will be able to end the game by the time it releases
Bit scared about the PC requirements considering how it runs on XSX.
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I’m altogether starting to get a little wary of it all. Zero XSX footage, not gonna deny that I really don’t like that. But hey, we’ll find out soon enough eh. I really hope my worry is for nothing.
On the other hand, did we ever see gameplay of Xbox versions of FH5, Gears 5, and so on before release?
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