Tag: Activision Blizzard - Page 4
News Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Officially Approved In Europe
A major step forward
Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard has taken a huge step forward today, as the European Commission has voted to approve the deal, leaving just the UK CMA and U.S. FTC as the major roadblocks right now. In a
News Xbox & Activision Among Long List Of Devs Involved With Summer Game Fest 2023
Geoff reveals the lineup
With the cancellation of E3 this year, Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest essentially takes over as the main gaming event for the season. With less than a month to go until The Game Awards host delivers the show, a pretty long list of partnered game companies have been announced. There are some huge names in this list,...
News UK CMA Places Further Restrictions On Microsoft And Activision Blizzard
Clamping down
There's been a slight update in Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority now restricting the tech and video game giants from "acquiring an interest" in each other. As explained by the BBC, a recent interim order reveals the two parties would need "prior written consent"...
News EU 'Expected' To Approve Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal Next Week
According to "sources" at Reuters
It appears we can't go a few minutes without something new happening in the world of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard at the moment, with the latest story being that that the European Commission is reportedly expected to approve the takeover as soon as next week - potentially on Monday, May 15th. This is according...
Report Activision Blizzard Hires Royal Family-Level Lawyer To Fight UK CMA
He represented the Queen at one point!
Things are seemingly getting pretty serious when it comes to Xbox's squabble with the UK CMA over its Activision Blizzard deal! According to law analyst Florian Mueller (via Eurogamer), ActiBlizz has gone all the way to the top in hiring a lawyer to overturn
"We continue to be Microsoft's biggest partner"
EA held an earnings call for the period ending March 31, 2023 last night, and as part of CEO Andrew Wilson's comments, he talked a little bit about Microsoft's ongoing attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard. Basically, according to Wilson, the company is "indifferent" about whether Microsoft's...
Poll Do You Think The Xbox ActiBlizz Deal Will Still Go Ahead?
Following the recent CMA verdict
Now that the dust has settled on last month's UK CMA ActiBlizz verdict, we've been left wondering what happens next. We have the EU verdict supposedly right around the corner, we have the FTC's ongoing lawsuit and of course, Microsoft has already committed to
News Ukraine The Latest Nation To Pass Xbox's Activision Blizzard Acquisition
Microsoft sees success in the region
It's not all doom and gloom for Microsoft when it comes to the ongoing ActiBlizz deal! The Ukrainian government has announced this week that it is happy for Xbox's acquisition of the company to go ahead. Yep, despite hitting a major stumbling block here in the UK, the Eastern European nation seems satisfied with...
News Microsoft Signs New 10-Year Deal Despite UK ActiBlizz Verdict
"We are full speed ahead in our mission"
This week brought earth shattering Xbox news, when the UK CMA decided to block Microsoft's huge purchase of Activision Blizzard. The Xbox owner is already committed to appealing the decision though, and now, it's made another move to suggest that this deal is far from over. This morning, Microsoft has...
News Nvidia: Xbox's Acquisition Of ActiBlizz Would Be 'A Benefit To Cloud Gaming'
"Cloud gaming providers stand to gain an ever deeper catalog"
Boosteroid isn't the only cloud gaming service that disagrees with the CMA's decision to block the Xbox Activision Blizzard acquisition. Now, graphics card giant Nvidia has chimed in on social media with its 'Nvidia GeForce Now' Twitter account - mentioning how Microsoft's acquisition...
Report Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Reassures Employees Following UK ActiBlizz Decision
Everything's not lost
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been speaking to employees this week about the UK's decision to block Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard, reportedly seeking to reassure them about the future of the company's gaming division. According to a report from Bloomberg, Spencer acknowledged the disappointment of everyone at...
News Microsoft President Makes Headline News With 'Furious' Response To UK ActiBlizz Verdict
"The darkest day in our four decades in Britain"
If you look at the official BBC News website in the UK right now, the top story relates to the UK CMA's decision to block Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard, focusing on some comments made by Microsoft President Brad Smith. Speaking to the BBC, Smith didn't hold back with his thoughts,...
News Cloud Gaming Platform Calls Out Decision To Block Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal
"Boosteroid team and our users disagree"
In response to the CMA blocking Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard due to concerns about cloud gaming, Ukraine-based cloud gaming service 'Boosteroid' has issued a brief statement. It mentions how its team and users "disagree" with the decision and stand behind a statement made by Microsoft...
Talking Point Where Does Xbox Go Next If ActiBlizz Deal Falls Through?
Is another acquisition lined up? Is this it for new studios?
Well, the unfortunate news has well and truly landed - for now, the UK has blocked Xbox's attempt to purchase Activision Blizzard. While this ruling is by no means definitive — Microsoft is already starting its appeal process — it does present a major stumbling block for Xbox and...
News Activision Blizzard Criticises UK Verdict As Microsoft Takeover Gets Declined
"This report is a disservice to UK citizens"
Activision Blizzard has released a statement today following the UK CMA's verdict to decline the takeover by Microsoft, with ActiBlizz CEO Bobby Kotick sharing some words regarding his frustration over the decision. Kotick says that this is "far from the final word on this deal", and both ActiBlizz and...
News Microsoft Will Appeal UK Decision To Block Activision Blizzard Purchase
"We remain fully committed to this acquisition"
In case you missed the megaton news earlier on, the UK Competition and Markets Authority has officially blocked Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal. We definitely weren't expecting that decision, but it seems that Microsoft is already prepared for what comes next. In an official statement from company...
News Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Officially Blocked In The UK
"Microsoft’s proposed solution failed to effectively address the concerns"
Well, we didn't see this one coming! The UK Competition and Markets Authority has today decided to block Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, stating that the company failed to address concerns about cloud gaming. "The final decision to prevent the...
News UK CMA 'Expected' To Approve Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal This Week
We should find out very soon
It's a big week for Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as the UK's Competition and Markets Authority is set to make its final decision on whether to approve the takeover by this Wednesday, April 26th. Ahead of that date, the Financial Times is reporting that the CMA is "expected" to vote in favour...
News Microsoft Reportedly Invited To 'Showcase Its Products' At UK's 10 Downing St Next Week
At the same time the CMA delivers its verdict on ActiBlizz
Microsoft's protracted showdown with the UK Competition and Markets Authority is about to end after months of back and forth over Xbox getting its ActiBlizz deal closed. The CMA's investigation will be all wrapped up by next Wednesday, April 26, and it seems like Microsoft might be booking...
Video FTC Chair Questioned Over 'Remarkable' Decision To Side With Sony Rather Than Microsoft
"Can you explain why that seems to be a good idea?"
Microsoft's attempted takeover of Activision Blizzard was brought up in a Congressional hearing this week, in which FTC chair Lina Khan was asked about why the Commission had decided to "side" with Sony in relation to the deal. The question was asked by Tenessee representative Diana Harshbarger,...
News Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Adds South Africa To 'Approved' List
And we've got a big deadline coming up
Update: Activision Blizzard has reached out to Pure Xbox with the following statement: “The South African Competition Commission recommended approval of our merger with Microsoft based on a thorough review of the facts about competition in the gaming industry. We appreciate this additional affirmation from...
News Microsoft Is Starting To Advertise Its ActiBlizz Acquisition On Billboards In London
Call of tubey
Early last month, Microsoft increased its efforts to convince the UK that its Activision Blizzard deal would be a good one for gaming, when full-page ads started cropping up in newspapers. Well, those same ads (or very similar ones) have now been converted into digital billboards as the Xbox owner continues to push for positivity...
News Microsoft Reveals Frustration With Group Of 'Gamers' Trying To Sue Over Xbox Deal
"Unsupported and implausible claims"
Remember that group of ten "gamers" who tried to sue Microsoft over the Activision Blizzard takeover? The case was dismissed in court back in March, but the story isn't over, as the Plaintiffs have filed an amended complaint. As reported by Reuters, the new complaint is 73 pages long and (again) goes into detail...
News Xbox Signs Yet Another 10-Year ActiBlizz Deal, This Time With UK Mobile Network
Kevin Bacon approves
As approval processes continue for Xbox's huge Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft has signed another 10-year agreement in relation to its cloud gaming endeavours. This time, the Xbox owner has entered into a deal with UK internet and mobile phone provider EE. As expected, the agreement is focused on bringing Activision...
News Sony Blasts CMA's Xbox Verdict As 'Surprising, Unprecedented And Irrational'
"The CMA should revisit its analysis"
It was revealed back in late March that Xbox appeared to be getting close to approving the Activision Blizzard takeover in the UK, with the CMA explaining that it no longer had any concerns about Call of Duty and PlayStation. As you might expect, Sony isn't very happy about that. In the company's response to...
News Xbox Takes Major Step Towards Activision Blizzard Approval In UK
No more concerns about Call of Duty and PlayStation
Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard looks to almost be complete in the UK, as the Competition and Markets Authority has today narrowed its "scope of concerns" relating to the deal, specifically in regards to the "lessening of competition". Basically, the CMA no longer thinks that the deal...
News Activision Blizzard Warns Of 'Unprecedented Queue Times' For The Diablo 4 Open Beta
"Please be patient with us"
Diablo 4's Xbox open beta kicks off later today and will be live over the course of the weekend, however Activision and Blizzard aren't expecting it to be plain sailing throughout. The teams are warning players of "unprecedented traffic and queue times" once the beta moves from pre-order exclusivity to being fully open to...
News Sony Has 'Sufficient' Time To Develop Call Of Duty Alternatives, Says Microsoft
When taking a 10-year deal into account
The UK CMA has published another new document related to the ongoing Activision Blizzard saga this week, this time focusing on Microsoft's responses to the CMA's questions at a recent remedies hearing. You can take a look at the
News Group Of 'Gamers' Who Tried To Sue Microsoft Faced With Dismissal In Court
"Microsoft's motion to dismiss is GRANTED"
You may recall that back in late 2022, a group of 10 "video gamers" decided to file a federal antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft's attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard, suggesting that the takeover could prove harmful to the industry. However, in a California court this week, a judge sided with...
News Microsoft Offers ActiBlizz Remedies To EU, Deadline Pushed Back Yet Again
A decision will now be made by late May
These Activision Blizzard news drops are becoming daily again at the moment, with the latest news revolving around Microsoft's attempts to encourage the European Commission to accept the takeover. According to Reuters and Yahoo Finance, Microsoft has now offered remedies to the EU regulator in an attempt to...
Random Xbox's Phil Spencer Finds The Humour In Ridiculous Call Of Duty Meme
"Ok, that's pretty good"
We've seen Microsoft handing out a lot of 10-year deals to guarantee Activision Blizzard games (and particularly Call of Duty) on a variety of platforms in the future, so unsurprisingly there are plenty of memes cropping up! One of those memes actually caught the attention of Xbox boss Phil Spencer earlier this week, when...
News UK CMA Documents Reveal Six Companies In Favour Of Xbox ActiBlizz Acquisition
"PlayStation needs better competition"
There's more talk about Activision Blizzard going on today, and that's because the UK's Competition and Markets Authority has made more recent documents available to the public, including responses from Microsoft and Sony. Perhaps the most interesting new documents are related to six companies who have thrown...
News Xbox Teams Up With 'Ubitus' For Latest 10-Year ActiBlizz Partnership
"Our commitment is to give more players, more choice."
Following yesterday's agreement with Boosteroid to bring Xbox and Activision Blizzard games to the service in the future, Microsoft has penned another 10-year deal today with cloud gaming provider "Ubitus". Xbox boss Phil Spencer says the deal will allow Ubitus to take advantage of Xbox PC...
News Microsoft Signs Another 10-Year Deal In Its Bid To Buy Activision Blizzard
"Players deserve more choice than they have now"
In a bid to further enhance Xbox's case for buying Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has confirmed another 10-year agreement has been put into place following similar deals with Nintendo and Nvidia. This time around,
News Microsoft Is Running Full-Page Newspaper Ads About Call Of Duty On Xbox
"More games, for more players on more platforms"
We've seen that UK regulators have been some of the toughest to convince for Microsoft, so the company is going on the offensive to convince the nation that its Activision Blizzard deal will be good for gaming. As spotted by The Verg
News Sony Just Wants To 'Block' Merger, According To Activision Blizzard CCO
This is why "they keep refusing" the Call of Duty deal
Microsoft's battle with Sony has become quite public in recent months, and while a lot of it has come from official documentation, occasionally there have been some comments made on social media. The latest one comes from Activision Blizzard's Chief Communications Officer, Lulu Cheng Meservey,...
News Microsoft Says Xbox Game Pass Prices Won't Increase If ActiBlizz Deal Goes Through
"Any price increase would be counter-productive"
The UK CMA has posted another document relating to its ongoing Activision Blizzard investigation today, as Microsoft continues in its pursuit to acquire the Call of Duty publisher. This document goes over Xbox's response to making potential 'remedies' to suit all interested parties, and Xbox Game Pass...
News Sony Remains 'Extremely Sceptical' Of Reaching ActiBlizz Agreement With Microsoft
"The Transaction should be prohibited or subject to a structural remedy"
The Activision Blizzard drama has opened up once again today following newly published responses to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority from both Microsoft and Sony, although they're actually dated February 22nd, 2023 - this is just the first time we're getting to see...
Report Xbox Feels UK CMA Has 'Significantly' Overestimated The Impact Of COD Exclusivity
If it ever happened
The UK Competition and Markets Authority is one of the various regulatory bodies currently overseeing Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal, with the authority consistently hypothesising why the deal could, and possibly should, be blocked. One of those reasons is related to Call of Duty, with the CMA even suggesting that
News Xbox Expected To Win Activision Blizzard Battle In EU, Suggests Report
"With its offer of licensing deals to rivals"
It sounds like Microsoft is getting closer to winning the Activision Blizzard battle in Europe, as Reuters is reporting today that the European Commission is not expected to request that Microsoft sells assets in order to complete the deal. In other words, the expectation is that the EU regulator will...
News Xbox's Future Isn't Reliant On Activision Blizzard Deal, Reassures Phil Spencer
"It’s not some linchpin to the long term"
Microsoft and Team Xbox are set for more talks this week in relation to the company's ongoing attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard - this time with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. Ahead of those talks, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been in discussion with UK outlet
News Microsoft Defends ActiBlizz Acquisition By Highlighting PlayStation's Dominance Over Xbox
"Globally, it is about 70/30"
Stop us if you've heard this one before! Microsoft has once again been alluding to PlayStation's dominance in the market as a reason why regulators shouldn't be worried about Xbox's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Speaking at the big European Commission hearing this week, Microsoft president Brad Smith threw around...
News Microsoft Signs Binding Contract To Bring Call Of Duty To Nintendo
Update: Brad Smith clarifies his comments
Update (Tue 21st Feb, 2023 23:55 GMT): As part of today's European Commission hearing, Microsoft's Brad Smith clarified his comments from earlier in the day to explain that his mention of a "contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo's gamers" was focused around Call of Duty. You can see what he said down...
News Microsoft Agrees Deal With Nvidia To Bring Xbox & ActiBlizz Games To GeForce Now
Phil Spencer has made a statement on the partnership
There's been another big acquisition-led showdown in the EU today, as Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and other companies all meet to discuss Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal. One of those other companies is Nvidia, who've just agreed a deal with Microsoft relating to bringing Xbox games to the 'GeForce...
News Three Rivals Feel Microsoft's ActiBlizz Deal Would Have 'Negative Impact On Competition'
The latest from the UK CMA's investigation
The UK Competition and Markets Authority is still investigating Xbox's Activision Blizzard deal, with the final report currently set to be published by April 26th. While we've heard plenty about Sony's clear objections to the merger, today the CMA posted new findings relating to other gaming competitors...
News Microsoft Will Defend Its Xbox Activision Blizzard Deal In EU Court Hearing Next Week
Will the company see success?
Some of you may remember (unless you're as lost as we are at this point) that not too long ago, Microsoft reportedly received a 'statement of objections' from the European Commission in regards to the Xbox ActiBlizz deal. That statement basically included a bunch of things the commission wants to see altered for the...
News Sony Feels Microsoft Is Committing 'Obvious Harassment' In Relation To ActiBlizz Deal
What is going on?!
Not too long ago (although it all seems like a blur at this point), Microsoft ordered Sony to attend court to present its findings regarding Xbox's Activision Blizzard purchase. That court trial hasn't gone ahead yet — the hearing is currently planned for August 2nd — but it seems like Sony isn't too happy with Microsoft's...
News Activision Blizzard CEO Accuses Sony Of 'Trying To Sabotage' Xbox Takeover
Bobby Kotick speaks out
The latest chapter in the never-ending Microsoft and Activision Blizzard saga arrives in the form of comments from Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who hasn't held back with his thoughts on Sony's role in the process. Speaking to the Financial Times this week, Kotick accused Sony's leadership team of "suddenly" failing...
News Analysts Predict Xbox's Activision Blizzard Deal Will Close Soon, Despite UK Objections
"We read today's release as a signal..."
We finally heard from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority on Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard yesterday, and it wasn't good news, with the CMA provisionally finding that the takeover "could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers". However,...
News Microsoft CEO Suggests ActiBlizz Deal Would Help Xbox 'Compete' In Japan
Expanding territories
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appeared on CNBC this week to talk about the future of the company, including what's next for the Xbox team. Of course, this discussion led to questions about the Activision Blizzard acquisition, and how Microsoft is responding to the current regulatory approval processes going on around the world...
