Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard

[Ralle]

Finally some good Blizzard news. Microsoft, legendary restorer of old games, has acquired Activision Blizzard.

>>> Read more <<<

 

[YourArthas]

Finally. Only sad part is Bobby will stay till June 2023 as CEO of Activision (It does not say Blizzard though so there is hope I guess?)

 

[Shar Dundred]

Let's wait and see.
Could be good, could be bad, could change nothing.
Only one thing is certain:
Arkain rules supreme.

 

[Cheshire]

Finally some good Blizzard news. Microsoft, legendary restorer of old games, has acquired Activision Blizzard.

>>> Read more <<<

that picture of their gaming division cracked me up. they had to add all the "preferred pronouns" to the employees for absolutely no reason - everyone there uses the pronouns you would default to by their appearance - just to show how "woke" they are.

 

[Spacebuns]

Maybe... just maybe... people will be hired to work on Reforged again?

 

[Ghan_04]

I'm not sure I'd agree that this is good news, but much remains to be seen. What I don't like to see is huge consolidation of the gaming industry so that there are only a few massive players. Microsoft might be a benefit to the games we like right now (no guarantees), but I'm not convinced this will be a positive move for the ecosystem as a whole in the long run.

 

[Vindicator777]

I just hope they revive Heroes of the Storm

 

[StonemaulMidget]

Finally some good Blizzard news. Microsoft, legendary restorer of old games, has acquired Activision Blizzard.

>>> Read more <<<

Wut? o.o
I counted on Dreamhaven or Frost Giant Studios. Lets see how far Microsoft will take things.

 

[chopinski]

If they revisit Warcraft 3 and do something half as good as what they did to Age of Empire Remaster we are looking to something potentially amazing here. Let's hope and make our voices heard!!

 

[Selaya]

more monopolies. exactly what the doctor's ordered.

 

[ThompZon]

I'm pretty damn optimistic that it might turn out good!
They have to undo quote some amount of damage, but if they start to care about their players at all, it's a great start xD

 

[Selaya]

macroshit caring about the user/player?
what're you gonna tell me next, the sun's rising from the west?

 

[aeman]

and head of xbox, phil spencer became the ceo of AB

with how he save xbox from kinect, pretty sure he got something in his mind

 

[Venombite]

Honestly, concerning Warcraft 3, this doesn't matter at all. Changes absolutely nothing.

 

[tillinghast]

with how he save xbox from kinect, pretty sure he got something in his mind

Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Calls For Cross-Platform Ban Program

If that can't happen, Spencer said he hopes to see a system that lets you bring a "banned user list" to a new network.

www.gamespot.com

 

[7oda]

I'm at indifference about this. It's not like Wc3R would be in higher priorities than it is at the moment. It just moved from the ownership of one evil to another.

 

[OutsiderXE]

Wow! Maybe some hope for RTS games...

 

[Evilhog]

Now we need to convince Phil Spencer that Warcraft 3 isn't some forgotten and non-profitable vaporware IP.

 

[Darklycan51]

About the best company right now to buy actiblizz considering they themselves just released aoe 4 and were releasing Definitive editions before

 

[AngelCraft]

Finally some good Blizzard news. Microsoft, legendary restorer of old games, has acquired Activision Blizzard.

So is it time? It is time to take a chance that they can fix Warcraft. Because it is going to take a long work for the community for this. Me for reinforcing the cause for feedback.

 

[General Frank]

Here's hoping.

 

[aeman]

Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Calls For Cross-Platform Ban Program

If that can't happen, Spencer said he hopes to see a system that lets you bring a "banned user list" to a new network.

www.gamespot.com

well i take it back

 

[fenix140]

Ralle!!!, is it possible? that something can now be done with Warcraft 3 Reforged. This news is very good, the value of Warcraft 3 on Xbox and surely DoTa 1 of (Icefrog and DracoLich) by the fandom. I would like all the administrators and content creators to talk to Microsoft, I know they have the necessary concept to improve the game. Come on, we still can. (Retera there is opportunity)

 

[GetLocalPlayer]

What is dead may never die. Rape this corpse however you like, this can't get worse anyway.

 

[Resyak's Shade]

YEEEEEEEEEES! My prayers were heard!

 

[Warmok]

Seems good. Let's see how it goes

 

[FeelsGoodMan]

I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see Microsoft ever touching Warcraft III. Microsoft is a corporation and all they care about is how soon they will meet ROI on their investments. The Warcraft III fan base that actually pays for the game isn't big enough to justify such an investment imo, and I don't see them doing it out of the kindness of their hearts.

If I'm wrong I'd be very happy though.

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Oh, my, god.

 

[Raddazong]

Heard about it from a friend before too.
This will be interesting. Fingers crossed and wait...
I hope...they are prepared!

 

[Bribe]

Less corporate shit at the top and more splits at the bottom so talent can work on what they love doing. Corporations ruin gaming. We should be on StarCraft 4 and WarCraft 6 by now.

 

[Himperion]

One of salt and one of sand.

Less editors and consoliding around microsoft can mean a lot of bad things, and the last decade has show that companies in a winning streak get boneheaded enough to fuck their brands, or in case of Sony take the most obtuse approach as giving too much power to California.

And Blizzard is still fucked beyond repair and rooting, this don't mean re-re-re-re-re-REforged to un-un-un-unfuck that mess. When Microsoft can take corporative control over Acti/Blizz WoW could be on their last legs, SC and Overwatch are the most healthy IP of the company at this point. Diablo is on the "if they don't ruin it again"

But Microsoft can take some projects at "loss" for good reps. There is that, of course if they fire the Sylvanas simp writter from WOW, at least we can get some hope...

 

[YetAnotherYoutuber]

surely this time its gonna go better
.
.
i mean, monopolies never go wrong, right?
.
right?

 

[Himperion]

i mean, monopolies never go wrong, right?

On the other hand, gaming monopolies tend to implode harder and faster than other type of corporations.

Atari was a titan of their time for a very brief period, and they E.T put their glowing finger on their arses. Even EA is a minor case with founders running away with the money and creating more studios, this was bad to the point that the post 2015 adquisitions are done with a clause of 3 to 5 years of founders working on EA before cashing and running.

 

[micca]

I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see Microsoft ever touching Warcraft III. Microsoft is a corporation and all they care about is how soon they will meet ROI on their investments. The Warcraft III fan base that actually pays for the game isn't big enough to justify such an investment imo, and I don't see them doing it out of the kindness of their hearts.

If I'm wrong I'd be very happy though.

Why not? They touched Age of Empires and it turned out to be really good.

 

[YetAnotherYoutuber]

but was aoe 4 an aoe? or was it a different studio's take on the aoe 2 formula? from what i've read and seen, it was the latter, and while the game is playable, its biggest innovation is the engine+perspective change from 2 to 3d, and not the gameplay, which stands out in some parts because it differs, not because it would be an innovation of the aoe2 which it shares the setting with. would you call that really good? i'd call it mediocre at best.

either way, big corporations doing big corporation things and customer will be left in the dust, again

 

[deepstrasz]

 

[Cheshire]

wc3 dev (former blizz employee) thinks there is a chance this could save wc:

 

[Footman16]

I, for one, welcome our new evil Overlords.

 

[Homor]

So long, Kotick! Never come back you vile little grease golem.

Now, Microsoft! Go fucking fix Warcraft 3!

 

[FeelsGoodMan]

Why not? They touched Age of Empires and it turned out to be really good.

Sure, Warcraft III might turn out really good too, but it makes more sense to invest their money in other more promising projects. You can only create so much hype from an old game. Warcraft III is, sadly, old news.

 

[Bannar]

I'm not sure I'd agree that this is good news, but much remains to be seen. What I don't like to see is huge consolidation of the gaming industry so that there are only a few massive players. Microsoft might be a benefit to the games we like right now (no guarantees), but I'm not convinced this will be a positive move for the ecosystem as a whole in the long run.

Exactly my thoughts.

More players in the game (i.e. gaming industry) is good for us, customers, as quality of a product becomes an important factor. With that move, MSFT owns ~30 gaming studios or so, and brings the overall market closer to a skirmish of a few, rather than battle of many.

 

[Homor]

Sure, Warcraft III might turn out really good too, but it makes more sense to invest their money in other more promising projects. You can only create so much hype from an old game. Warcraft III is, sadly, old news.

There actually is something of value you can get from fixing Warcraft 3: a public relations victory.

The failure of Reforged and the disastrous production behind it is one of Blizzard's most recent and painful PR disasters. It hurt the Blizzard brand, and as one of their tentpole games is now in a nigh-unplayable state, it reflects horribly on the whole company and makes the fandom lose faith in them. Now, imagine how the good PR and brand trust that would come from a miraculous comeback. How well it would reflect on Microsoft if they saved the game despite not getting a direct profit from it. That kind of good publicity is someone that will reward you for years to come and be a huge long term success.

That's not to say MS will actually do it, they might not see that or care. I'm just explaining why it would be a great idea.

 

[Kam]

Temper your expectations on this. There will be a year long process of evaluation to determine what works and what doesn't before consumers start to see meaningful changes. Reforged could go either way. We are replacing a known negative with an unknown. That said I have more hope now.

 

[xorkatoss]

LMAO! will they even bother with Reforged? even since the UI Natives there haven't really been any big changes to the WE (unless I'm missing something?)
and honestly WE is what I care about the most because it's the PEOPLE that make the most amazing and fun maps of WC3!

I couldn't care less about reworked campaigns and other crap...

Hell i'll even buy a new DLC for Reforged IF they add ton of new content (AND I MEAN A TON) and it's not overpriced...

 

[aeman]

oh yeah we should set our expectation like really low, like as low as possible

 

[Kasrkin]

If we were still in the 2000s I would expect something good maybe.

 

[FeelsGoodMan]

There actually is something of value you can get from fixing Warcraft 3: a public relations victory.

The failure of Reforged and the disastrous production behind it is one of Blizzard's most recent and painful PR disasters. It hurt the Blizzard brand, and as one of their tentpole games is now in a nigh-unplayable state, it reflects horribly on the whole company and makes the fandom lose faith in them. Now, imagine how the good PR and brand trust that would come from a miraculous comeback. How well it would reflect on Microsoft if they saved the game despite not getting a direct profit from it. That kind of good publicity is someone that will reward you for years to come and be a huge long term success.

That's not to say MS will actually do it, they might not see that or care. I'm just explaining why it would be a great idea.

Sure, public opinion will improve as a result, however the player base is so polarized so in many people's eyes it will never be enough. If they re-implement ladder and custom campaigns you still have a huge chunk of people who absolutely detest the art style. If they start remaking the art assets as well it will be a huge investment for very little quantifiable return.

I think they don't want to touch Warcraft III because;

1. Its player base is too small (not counting China, I'm not really sure how the Warcraft III player base is in China).
2. They won't be able to revive the player base since the game has run its course, and they can only hype an old game so much without releasing new content.
3. They will receive a lot of backlash from fans that will never be happy.
4. They will probably never get ROI on their investment.

I think they will just forget Warcraft III and focus on newer, better games. People in general have short memory spans, and forget easily as soon as the next big game is out. Only the hardcore fans will hold a grudge and boycott a corporation because of a botched re-release, and the rest will buy their AAA titles without thinking twice about Warcraft III.

 

[Homor]

I'm cautiously optimistic because I still think the game is salvageable, and it wouldn't be very hard or cost much:

1) Restore the classic client and iron out some of the bugs it had.
2) Get Reforged to a stable state. Doesn't have to be vastly improved, because once the classic client is officially supported, everyone will focus on that. But making a stable experience will be good for everyone.

I say, revert to neither optimism or cynicism. Just wait and see what happens.

 

[Kam]

I'm cautiously optimistic because I still think the game is salvageable, and it wouldn't be very hard:

1) Restore the classic client and iron out some of the bugs it had.
2) Get Reforged to a stable state. Doesn't have to be vastly improved, because once the classic client is officially supported, everyone will focus on that. But making a stable experience will be good for everyone.

I want to set expectations here. Going back to the classic client simply isn't a reasonable option for many internal reasons. It's not simple at all. You'd also be forcing map makers who have used 1.32 to save their maps to essentially remake their maps because there is no backwards compatibility. That is many hundreds of maps.

If I had my way we would have not shipped Reforged and continued iterating on classic. That's all in the past though. The chances of the classic client returning are .01%. Please don't put stock in that idea.

 

[ShadowMidas]

I can't believed that Microsoft bought Blizzard and Activision after Bethesda.