Xbox marks a before and after with the purchase of Activision Blizzard

It is enough to make a light assessment of the last years of Xbox to realize, not only how much the company has grown, but also that it is the one that has done it the most. We already knew that Microsoft is a giant, since it has managed to position itself above its most direct rivals worldwide (Apple and Amazon). What’s happening with its dedicated video game division is one of the most obvious symptoms of this. Over time, Redmond has given more and more importance to video games, and with Phil Spencer at the helm, they are on their way to becoming the number 1 company in the industry alongside Nintendo.

Last year, an earthquake shook the video game industry. Microsoft has officially acquired Zenimax (Bethesda). Until then, Xbox had already made great strides, such as the acquisition of Ninja Theory, Rare or Playground Games to name a few. However, no one expected an entire Bethesda to be part of Microsoft, along with each of its studios. We thought we had seen it all, but the rules of the game had changed. the January 18, 2022 will be remembered as a milestone in the history of video games. ActivisionBlizzard, two great historical figures in one, would be part of the Xbox family. Then we analyze what this means for the future.

The Xbox family is growing

One of the most important and direct consequences of this acquisition is the Instant Xbox Game Studios Growth. The team was already round, with enormous wealth in terms of IP, and of course in terms of personnel. To newcomers to Zenimax, such as Machine Games, Bethesda Softworks or Arkane, as well as old Rare, Ninja Theory, Inxile, 343i, Playground or Mojang, we need to add talents as powerful as Toys for Bob, Treyarch, Beenox, Infinity Ward or the whole Blizzard division.

The best of all this is not only the great increase in studies that Microsoft will have, but that these in turn can benefit from support. For example, if Playground Games is already collaborating with Turn10 to make its Forza Horizon, why not merge Infinity Ward with ID Software for the future? Call of Duty? ¿What if Rare got help from Toys for Bob to make a new Banjo Kazooie?. The combinations can be almost endless, with studios very capable of achieving different genres.

Personally, I think the variety of studios, along with their vast track record and experience, will be a turning point in the quality of future Xbox games. A quality that, although already superlative, now promises to be even better. While it is true that some sagas have seen better times, I think staff turnover, and policy change will, for example, World of Warcraft you Monitor 2 have a better future than ever. projects like Diablo 4, which seemed to stagnate, will move forward, and the problems of war zone may well be nipped in the bud.

Microsoft saves Activision Blizzard

The depth and prestige of Activision Blizzard in the industry are fully recognizable, the two brands are synonymous with success. Even after the Blizzard acquisition, when the owner of wow Yes Diablo It was off-peak. Despite all this, despite the immensity of both, the controversy will soon hit this giant fiercely. And it’s hard to believe that such a large company, and which moves so many millions a year, could be weighed down as we have seen.

In recent months we have lived and reported in the Xbox area everything that has happened with the company. The ever-questionable policies towards video games have been left behind, taking center stage despicable treatment of their workers. When it all exploded, the developers themselves came to the fore, revealing the harassment of many of them, usually women. Pressures, parties where a few bosses took advantage of their position, a wild crunch, and even with the alleged cover-up of a suicide. Ultimately, a horrific practice which fortunately will now see its end.

a series of errors

Before all this scandal came to light, Activision Blizzard was already showing signs of being very sick. We will all remember the CEO of Blizzard and his unfortunate phrase about immortal devil; “You don’t have cell phones?. Diablo IV For its part, and after an eternal wait, it made itself known, but it is clear that development suffered along the way. Monitor 2 also seemed to be on the way, but at first glance it looked more like an update than a new game itself. I could also name the giant Call of Duty, which far from satisfying most of its audience, fell into failure after failure. Yes OK modern warfare worked relatively well the saga hit rock bottom with Avant-garde.

With this panorama, and a war zone equally deficient, I think we can all agree that If anyone could change the fate of Activision Blizzard, it was Microsoft.. They were one step away from falling into the absolute void, but one masterful gesture completely changed the rules of the game. Xbox, with Phil Spencer at the helm, gave this company and its employees a second chance.

What will happen to major Activision Blizzard franchises?

With CEO Bobby Kotick temporarily at the helm and Activision’s days numbered, it’s not hard to see what’s to come with its franchises in the future. We still want to shed some light on the subject, counting of course on the recent statements of Phil Spencer. The number of IPs is too large for Xbox right now. Now he counts in his ranks with the giants Call of Duty the World of Warcraft. But besides these, those who were once a promotional image of Playstation, Crash and Spyro, also join the team.

The acquisition of Activision Blizzard has not yet been done from a legal standpoint, but is underway. With that in mind, it’s clear that we can’t expect releases from Xbox itself with these sagas in the short term. What wouldn’t be unreasonable is for us to have an event sooner rather than later, as has been done with Bethesda. A warm welcome from studios and senior officials, which would later lead to the arrival of a multitude of games on Game Pass. A solution which could also involve the arrival of World of Warcraft to PC Game Pass, changing the business model and giving those users the ability to play an entire catalog, instead of just one game.

Another key point is what can happen with Call of Duty. From Sony they have already shown their concern about the future of the saga on Playstation, while Phil Spencer called for calm. In a tweet he was conciliatory, assuring that, as (again) with Bethesda, the agreements prior to the acquisition will be respected.

However, contrary to what they say in other media, he has not confirmed anything about the future of the saga. This silence has been interpreted in many ways, but seeing how events unfolded with star field the Ancient Scrolls, the logical thing is that Call of Duty become an Xbox exclusive saga. And the best thing is that the annual launches would end, being able to further refine the product. With these precedents, and what we already know, it is to be expected that Xbox will take advantage of these sagas and make them exclusive. Something similar to what Sony did in its time with the Playstation 1 and 2. Of course, with the subtle difference that this time Microsoft is the true owner.

The Xbox Area newsroom gives its opinion

It seems the move Microsoft made with the Activision-Blizzard takeover offers plenty of reading. First, Xbox has picked up a few well-known industry IPs on which it can create new games. On the other hand, it will add great value to your Xbox Game Pass subscription service thanks to Activision-Blizzard’s already existing titles, both for consoles and PC. Finally, we will have to be attentive to the appearance of Microsoft in the metaverse, making use of its Azure technology. This latest move was seen by industry analysts as Microsoft’s game for its part of the metaverse. In any case, we hope that all players will win with this purchase, having managed to defeat a company that was going through one of its worst moments.

Overheated

Microsoft’s decision is so incredible that it still seems surreal or impossible to me today. Microsoft has managed in less than 5 years to position itself with a rich catalog of franchises as important as they are old in the sector. Undoubtedly, the ecosystem it achieves will attract millions of users who previously doubted whether or not to acquire a Microsoft console or use the GPU service. Now I consider it more important to consolidate everything he has, beyond the release of new games or IP, it’s a lot to cover and no doubt the benefits will skyrocket.

happy

From my point of view, I welcome the takeover of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft. The company was very adrift after the serious accusations and investigations in which it is involved regarding sexual and workplace harassment. I think Microsoft can put some ground in the middle to clean up the inside of the company. Regarding future game releases, it is still too early to know if titles such as the new installments of Call of Duty, Overwatch or Diablo, to give examples, will continue to be cross-platform launch conditions or if they will become unique to Xbox. Of course we have that, thanks to Xbox Game Pass we will be able to have all future Activision-Blizzard releases as well as previous ones in the service. For now, we can only wait to see what happens in the future.

Saul

The acquisition of Activision/Blizzard by Microsoft seems to me to be a brutal decision that took us all by surprise.
Although not living its best time, it is one of the “iconic” brands of this world and its games are and have been a benchmark in the industry. To all this we must add the amount of income that many of its games generate, games like WoW, CoD, Overwatch or Diablo, they have a huge community of players, important tournaments are organized around them… so if Microsoft has decided to invest 70,000 million dollars in the acquisition, they have presumably studied well what their profits will be in this company. As gamers and lovers of the Xbox brand, what’s really important is that acquiring these studios can allow titles that have never been seen before and were once exclusive to other platforms to reach our consoles. . Let’s wait to see what the future holds for us, which gives me that this will be good news!

France

Given the situation Activision-Blizzard was going through with the issue of harassment, Overwatch dropping, Call of Duty hackers, Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 delays with no dates or relevant announcements, I believe the buying this is the best thing that could have happened to him. Since Xbox is surely capable of giving a fresh take on everything and channeling a lot of the issues that I think were piling up and discrediting a great company like Activision-blizzard was and is.

Sefirox

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