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Microsoft says the Activision Blizzard acquisition is ‘moving fast’ (VGC)

Ozriel

M$FT
So, COD gets the majority of sales on PS but Activision holds most of the cards?

It’s not like Sony can kick COD off the platform. So yeah, they hold most of the cards.

we’re talking about Call of Duty here. they’d still sell just as much with or without Sony’s marketing deal. And both parties know it.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Where are all the CODs and Activision games on Game Pass? We got them all on PS plus years ago while you're still waiting for 1 Acti game to show up. That says it all really. If it's not a contract then are you saying Activision don't want to support GP?

Black Ops 3, Zombies Chronicles, MW1 and 2 Remastered, BO4, WWII, Crash Trilogy etc were all free. Activision been feeding us good, no buyouts needed 😁

‘Us’? ‘We’?

Oh. You own just one platform. I’m not constrained in that way. I own these games on Plus Collection.

The buyout puts Activision game day one on GP. That’s the difference, I believe.
 
Still hoping this falls through. Fuck consolidation

I don't care much for consolidation either but it's kinda silly to hope and wish a deal falls through simply because of that stance. No matter how much you hope for it, that will not change the reality that it is happening.

That's why I don't like speculating on possible acquisitions, but when one actually gets formally announced, I try to look at it from an optimistic POV (both for the companies involved and myself as a gamer).

They could have all the games exclusive to Xbox/PC once Sony's contract with Activision expires since they are under no legal obligation to keep their 1st party games on any competing platform. The optics would be bad since they said they would keep CoD multiplat plus they'd lose a shit ton of money since CoD sells so well on every platform.

They could use it as leverage though if in fact the marketing deal includes a clause disallowing CoD on other platform's sub services. There is also the possiblity that the marketing contract does not include such a clause since the marketing deal was first signed at the beginning of last gen; long before Game Pass ever existed.

Right, but wouldn't Sony have renewed the contract at some point last generation, likely after GamePass came out? That's what some of the rumors have mentioned, anyway.
 

yurinka

Member
Let's see the Sony x Capcom RE Village receipts regarding related stuff:
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Wasn't there a topic a few days back that CoD wasn't in Sony's marketing partners slide at some conference anymore ?
 

ZywyPL

Banned
Launching old AB games on Game Pass does literally nothing for people who are waiting for the next gen MS games to drop.

I'd absolutely give D3 and all the CoDs a go if they'd land on GP, honestly bthis would be more exciting than oretty much all the upcoming games from 1st party studios I've never heard of.
 

GhostOfTsu

Banned
‘Us’? ‘We’?

Oh. You own just one platform. I’m not constrained in that way. I own these games on Plus Collection.

The buyout puts Activision game day one on GP. That’s the difference, I believe.
You say that now but I guarantee you the hype is not only on the Day 1 (not before 2024 for COD then). People are going to lose their shit when the back catalog hits GP even if they could get them all on PS Plus as you say.

Anyway, why do you think Activision never supported GP? You don't need an acquisition to give some of these old games. Same for Bethesda, they were all on PS Plus/Now without any fanfare.

Wasn't there a topic a few days back that CoD wasn't in Sony's marketing partners slide at some conference anymore ?
Brad Smith, the same guy that did this interview already said the contract with Sony is until 2024.

gPjH7Bf.jpg
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
You say that now but I guarantee you the hype is not only on the Day 1 (not before 2024 for COD then). People are going to lose their shit when the back catalog hits GP even if they could get them all on PS Plus as you say.

Anyway, why do you think Activision never supported GP? You don't need an acquisition to give some of these old games. Same for Bethesda, they were all on PS Plus/Now without any fanfare.


Brad Smith, the same guy that did this interview already said the contract with Sony is until 2024.

gPjH7Bf.jpg



Yeah but that's strictly talking about "will remain available".

Not any kind of co-marketing.
 
I can’t see Microsoft selling the marketing rights to their 1st party titles. Even the few that might stay multi. The other part would be, would Sony or anyone else want to market Microsoft’s games?

I don’t think so

I mean I don't expect Bungie to do any exclusive deals with Microsoft. All of them will be with Sony. But like Bungie it's possible for games to remain available on the competitors platform.
 

kingfey

Banned
Still can’t believe MS might own CoD, Diablo, Crash and Overwatch. That’s bonkers on top of Bethesda.
That is money for you.

Imagine if they were this serious during OG xbox- xbox one. Glad MS decided to invest in late, or it would have been end game.
 

freefornow

Member
You say that now but I guarantee you the hype is not only on the Day 1 (not before 2024 for COD then). People are going to lose their shit when the back catalog hits GP even if they could get them all on PS Plus as you say.

Anyway, why do you think Activision never supported GP? You don't need an acquisition to give some of these old games. Same for Bethesda, they were all on PS Plus/Now without any fanfare.


Brad Smith, the same guy that did this interview already said the contract with Sony is until 2024.

gPjH7Bf.jpg
Wonder what the "extending the deal on a multi year basis" will cost Sony?
What if MS asks for premium price to extend deal and Sony decides that asking price is too high and pass on offer?
 

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Wonder what the "extending the deal on a multi year basis" will cost Sony?
What if MS asks for premium price to extend deal and Sony decides that asking price is too high and pass on offer?
It basically will become a Cold War. MS will use COD as incentive to keep Sony from locking other games out of the Xbox ecosystem. I think it gets us to a place where 3rd party money hats go away which is good for everyone.
 
I expect the deal to close even before the end of the year. Maybe even in autumn.

Wonder what the "extending the deal on a multi year basis" will cost Sony?
Probably nothing because I think it is no more than a lip service.

Microsoft: "Hey you can still market our game but we will release it on Game Pass, with all DLCs and so on."
Sony: "No, no. Thank you!"

Also I believe Microsoft first party games still cost 60$ right? So aside Game Pass it is gonna be even cheaper on Xbox too
 
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I still don't understand why Microsoft are buying Activision, only to come out and say they will carry on releasing cod on PS beyond current agreements. Than what's the point? Is it just to get the casual cod crowd on xbox to subscribe to gamepass? Why not make it exclusive and get even more subscribers than?
 
I expect the deal to close even before the end of the year. Maybe even in autumn.


Probably nothing because I think it is no more than a lip service.

Microsoft: "Hey you can still market our game but we will release it on Game Pass, with all DLCs and so on."
Sony: "No, no. Thank you!"

Also I believe Microsoft first party games still cost 60$ right? So aside Game Pass it is gonna be even cheaper on Xbox too

I’m confused on how subs will be cheaper on Xbox than PlayStation due to that 60$ price tag.

Something seems a little off to me but I’m probably just not understanding your theory right.
 

RaZoR No1

Member
I still don't understand why Microsoft are buying Activision, only to come out and say they will carry on releasing cod on PS beyond current agreements. Than what's the point? Is it just to get the casual cod crowd on xbox to subscribe to gamepass? Why not make it exclusive and get even more subscribers than?
If MS goes out and tells everybody that all ABK games will be exclusive from now on, than none of the regulators would allow a purchase of this size.
They have to play it like this and try to get the customers with other Xbox exclusive features like Zombie mode or DLCs first on Xbox etc.
 
What does marketing have to do with taking the game off the platform? I think that Microsoft wants the marketing rights for COD. Marketing deals break easily, it happens very often in any type of market.
 

Topher

Gold Member
So is that one cheaper than Sonys new options?

Just trying to figure out where the new plus options stand with pricing when compared to the gamepass ones.

The most comparable options are PS+ Premium and Game Pass Ultimate which includes games and online. Monthly PS+ Premium is $18 versus GPU $15. The annual option for PS+ Premium is $120. GPU doesn't have annual option so it is $180 when compared annually.

Regular Xbox Game Pass is $10 a month. PS+ doesn't have a tier that gives games without the online gaming so after Premium and GPU, it is really hard to compare.
 
I’m confused on how subs will be cheaper on Xbox than PlayStation due to that 60$ price tag.
What? COD is not coming to Playstation subscription service. Maybe backlog at best and even that is not a guarantee. Just like I don't think new Bethesda games were added to PS+ or PS Now aside online games (like FO76). What I meant is that imagine marketing a game while it will be able on GP Day 1 on the platform of the competitor and while you are not getting any perks from having marketing rightsl, because obviously Microsoft won't offer a contract like this.

At best they will offer a contract for COD but Sony will have to make a consessions, so - even if there are so many people that do not agree with me - still believe that aside Warzone 2, Microsoft will make mainline COD exclusive eventually.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
At best they will offer a contract for COD but Sony will have to make a consessions, so - even if there are so many people that do not agree with me - still believe that aside Warzone 2, Microsoft will make mainline COD exclusive eventually.

If that happens Microsoft will face some major backlash for being incredibly disingenuous about the franchise's future on PlayStation.
 
If that happens Microsoft will face some major backlash for being incredibly disingenuous about the franchise's future on PlayStation.
Backlash from whom? Interent community? The same community that is arguing that COD is dying?
With Game Pass and Warzone 2 being the main cashcow there (and being available via cloud like Fortnite soner or later) I don't see any backlash happening.

And they said nothing disingenuous either. Anyway, I don't plan to engage into that debate - I firmly believe that COD is gonna become exclusive sooner or later. Granted Sony will get Warzone 2 and the next 1 or 2 games on PS, that's for sure. So until 2024-2025 nothing will change much and in 2-3 years no one would care (market share will increase, more acquisitions will happen etc).
 
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Topher

Gold Member
Backlash from whom? Interent community? With Game Pass and Warzone 2 being the main cashcow there (and being available via cloud like Fortnite soner or later) I don't see backlash.
And they said nothing disingenuous.

Yeah, from the gaming community. You don't go on twitter and explicitly say they are going to "keep Call of Duty on PlayStation" and then later say "oh....we just meant Warzone" later. That might make Spencer truthful in a technical sense, but folks are going to see it as deceptive and there will be PR backlash. I just don't see Call of Duty being used as console war fodder.
 
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The most comparable options are PS+ Premium and Game Pass Ultimate which includes games and online. Monthly PS+ Premium is $18 versus GPU $15. The annual option for PS+ Premium is $120. GPU doesn't have annual option so it is $180 when compared annually.

Regular Xbox Game Pass is $10 a month. PS+ doesn't have a tier that gives games without the online gaming so after Premium and GPU, it is really hard to compare.

Ok that makes more sense to me. Thanks for the info.
 
Yeah, from the gaming community. You don't go on twitter and explicitly say they are going to "keep Call of Duty on PlayStation" and then later say "oh....we just meant Warzone" later. That might make Spencer truthful in a technical sense, but folks are going to see it as deceptive and there will be PR backlash. I just don't see Call of Duty being used as console war fodder.
Nobody is gonna argue over semantics where COD mainline or Warzone 2 is the real COD game :messenger_tears_of_joy: It will probably trigger infighting within COD community itself.
Imagine debating whether COD is coming or not coming to Playstation while at the same time having Warzone 2 there :messenger_tears_of_joy: We need that Patrick meme there but with COD.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
Nobody is gonna argue over semantics where COD mainline or Warzone 2 is the real COD game :messenger_tears_of_joy: It will probably trigger infighting withing COD community itself whose COD is the real COD.
Imagine debating that COD is not coming to Playstation while at the same time having Warzone 2 there :messenger_tears_of_joy:

I disagree. That would be a massively controversial news story. Thankfully, I don't think Phil Spencer is that stupid.
 
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Leyasu

Banned
I have to agree with ChuckeRearmed ChuckeRearmed , I don;t think that COD mainline will stay multi forever. Just like I don't believe that Bungies next I.P will be on xbox either.

All this mr niceguy multiplat speak from both sides smacks of just that. At the most I can see Sony launching their games in the future on PC. They want to grow their business without helping to make their competitiors platform more attractive. The best way to do that would be to put their games on PC. This applies too both of them. Although Microsoft are already doing that.

Still, I am not going to die on this hill. So I won't be getting into any lengthy debates about it.
 
I can see this deal not happening. Microsoft is paying such a premium for them based on early 2022 market prices. Their valuation would have come back down to earth otherwise. Most companies have lost like 30-50 percent of their value under market corrections.

At first I thought we'd see tremendous activity in the market this year with M&A but I think they wait for things to settle down now.
 

Jemm

Member
I still don't understand why Microsoft are buying Activision, only to come out and say they will carry on releasing cod on PS beyond current agreements. Than what's the point? Is it just to get the casual cod crowd on xbox to subscribe to gamepass? Why not make it exclusive and get even more subscribers than?
Outside gaming, Microsoft has big plans for their version of the metaverse and they are going to need a lot of developers to help them to build their [3D] worlds.
That's why I don't see it as an Xbox investment and why Microsoft is willing to invest so much. Sure they'll get the IPs and will monetize with COD and other live-service games.

This deal isn't about getting exclusives, it is for getting resources for their grander plans.

This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.
“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”
Microsoft Build will be next week. I'm sure they will tell more about their plans during the key note and other sessions.
 
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DaGwaphics

Member
@ Jemm Jemm they definitely seem to be full steam ahead with their vision of the metaverse. I wonder how long before, as consumers, we can look at XYZ and classify it in our minds as being part of the metaverse. Personally, I'm still not sure exactly what the metaverse is just yet, I assume a lot of other people are in the same position. Seems like it is mostly buzzwords so far. 🤷‍♂️
 

BlueHawk

Neo Member
Looking forward to never having to buy CoD again. I always saw it as a franchise that drops in value when a new one drops so Gamepass is the best place for it.
 

Vognerful

Member
I still don't understand why Microsoft are buying Activision, only to come out and say they will carry on releasing cod on PS beyond current agreements. Than what's the point? Is it just to get the casual cod crowd on xbox to subscribe to gamepass? Why not make it exclusive and get even more subscribers than?

I mean we are told that gamers buy more games on Sony platforms. and we were told many times that CoD brings so much revenue that Microsoft that the effect of pulling it off will be harder on Microsoft than Sony.

If that happens Microsoft will face some major backlash for being incredibly disingenuous about the franchise's future on PlayStation.
Maybe they will try the same tactic as Sony and release exclusive content on xbox platforms. maybe little by little they hope to pull consumers in until they decide it is worth more to just cut Sony off.

if Sony are really going to release 10+ GaaS, maybe MS would think and say that it is a matter of time before cutting of Sony is just easy.

I mean they would be pissing of Sony players. But whay would be different than what happened to SF5 for example? in fact, it helped Sony to have the PS4 & and PS5 as the fighting game machine.
 

Topher

Gold Member
I mean we are told that gamers buy more games on Sony platforms. and we were told many times that CoD brings so much revenue that Microsoft that the effect of pulling it off will be harder on Microsoft than Sony.


Maybe they will try the same tactic as Sony and release exclusive content on xbox platforms. maybe little by little they hope to pull consumers in until they decide it is worth more to just cut Sony off.

if Sony are really going to release 10+ GaaS, maybe MS would think and say that it is a matter of time before cutting of Sony is just easy.

I mean they would be pissing of Sony players. But whay would be different than what happened to SF5 for example? in fact, it helped Sony to have the PS4 & and PS5 as the fighting game machine.

Or maybe Microsoft will do what they said and keep COD on PlayStation. If Sony decides to make Bungie's games exclusive to PS after saying they were keeping them multiplatform then Sony would be raked over the coals. And they should be.
 
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