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[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I don’t even get the whole “they’re now one of the biggest publishers in gaming”

Isn’t that the total opposite of why they started the Xbox project to begin with?

Yeah I don't get that sentiment either. I feel the people who say it only do so because of how much money MS spent for ABK, but if we broke it down across any measurable metrics, it wouldn't be true in most cases.

>Single-most prolific IP in revenue: likely goes to games like Fortnite​

​

>Single best-reviewed new game release of the year: nothing from MS post-Zenimax OR ABK​

​

>GOTY winner: nothing from MS post-Zenimax or ABK​

​

>Biggest number of highly-rated games: among entire catalog, likely goes to Nintendo​

​

>Largest revenue-generating catalog: I mean, maybe? But even this I feel wouldn't be MS post-Zenimax or ABK. T2, Nintendo, Epic, maybe even EA are all at least in the running​

​

>Single best-selling game: Take Two (GTA5)​

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>Single highest revenue-generating game: Take Two again (GTA5)​

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>Most impactful/influential games: Nintendo (Mario (SMB, SMB3, 64 etc.), Zelda, OoT, Smash Bros, Wii Sports etc.), Sony/SIE (Uncharted 2, GT, Parappa, TLOU etc.), SEGA (Virtua Fighter, Daytona, Sonic, Shenmue etc.), T2/R*, Square-Enix (Dragon Quest, FF VII etc.), Epic (Fortnite, Gears of War etc.) and probably a few others pop up ahead of MS/Zenimax/ABK.​

​

Not saying MS don't have some of those games (Halo, Flight Sim, DOOM (iD), TES (Bethesda), COD (ABK) etc.), but it's not to the same degree of others I mentioned. Probably one of the areas where they are at least in the running now, though.​

​

>Number of published games: I mean, I guess?​

So yeah, this whole "they're the biggest publisher now" argument just comes off as a soundbyte. Across most metrics, that either isn't the case at all or isn't easily claimed to be the case. If MS want that title they have to actually earn it. Buying two massive 3P publishers doesn't automatically earn you a title like that.

They never intended to make them exclusive to Xbox. Not even Sony/Nintendo have an install base that could justify that expense.

Microsoft is playing the long game with game pass.

Did you...did you just not read the leaked emails? Foreclosure was 100% part of the intent, that's why they originally only offered COD to SIE until 2027. And that's why they ONLY offered COD initially, none of the other ABK IP included.

Bibliography

GamingUK, Retro. My Ass. Made Up Bullshit Publishing, 2024.

WTF, Punished bro, you were in the threads!! You read the emails!!! How could you forget!?

Again, MS only offered SIE COD until 2027 originally. No other ABK IP. What do y'all think was gonna happen after 2027 with that original contract?

 

[HogIsland]

One genuinely good thing about the merger is MS killing off all the BS PC stores. Hopefully Battle.net gets the captive bolt to the dome in 2025.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

What changed since MS purchased Activision?

Activision swallowed the entire Xbox division for starters maybe?

 

[Lunarorbit]

Great article with tons of references. Really lays bare how incompetent the management is at Microsoft.

The game studio closures are numerous and extremely disappointing. In sports when you target free agents you don't necessarily want to set the market with high end deals cause your current players might interpret that as disrespectful.

Spend billions on studio A and shutter everyone else. It's a great strategy.

 

[Jaybe]

Feels like ABK bought Xbox with how things have changed but that’s not a bad thing, we can move past console wars now that Microsoft Gaming is simply a third party publisher

 

[clarky]

None of those.

PC owners.

Nothing has changed for us boss unless im missing something. I still have to avoid the xbox app like the plague. Not even COD will drag me away from steam.

 

[Ebrietas]

Sony was the winner. The acquisitions were supposed to end PlayStation. Instead they ended Xbox. Sony had one of their biggest competitors eliminated and got MS to pay for it.

 

[ReBurn]

ABK shareholders benefited the most, Kotick included.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Sony was the winner. The acquisitions were supposed to end PlayStation. Instead they ended Xbox. Sony had one of their biggest competitors eliminated and got MS to pay for it.

And Sony not only didn't lose access to a single videogame in the process, they actually got the games from bethesda that wouldn't be on PS5 if this acquisition never happened like Indiana Jones.

 

[Humdinger]

If we're measuring strictly in financial terms, then Kotick wins, but if we're measuring in terms of happiness or life satisfaction, then PS owners get my vote.

If we're talking about happiness or life satisfaction, I don't think Bobby Kotick benefitted all that much. We know there's no relation between happiness and wealth beyond a certain point, and that point is waaaay below where Kotick is. Kotick already had tens of millions in the bank, maybe more. For guys like that, adding a couple tens of millions more sounds isn't that big a deal. He might get a little temporary boost from it, but per the laws of hedonic adaptation, that will be gone in about a year. And as someone commented earlier, Kotick no doubt enjoyed the power and status of running a huge company. That is now gone. So it's not clear to me that he would experience even be a minor temporary bump in happiness.

Compare that to the sum total of increased happiness among tens of millions of PS owners, who can now play games they wouldn't have access to, and there's no contest.

But yeah, it depends what your measuring stick is.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

*Not all GamePass tiers. Conditions apply.

Xbox users won a downgrade to one of the tiers of GamePass, but they’ll still defend the brand smh my head.

Gamepass used to be ridiculous value.

Now its good value. Thats all.

I still like the option of being able to play it on.

 

[Ebrietas]

And Sony not only didn't lose access to a single videogame in the process, they actually got the games from bethesda that wouldn't be on PS5 if this acquisition never happened like Indiana Jones.

It can’t be emphasized enough just how colossally stupid Xbox management is.

 

[Tsaki]

Everything's changed.

 

[SweetTooth]

MS are 70B in the red for this, they had to cut major operating fat to accelerate their ROI.

 

[M1987]

COD is on PC gamepass? Which ones? Would like to revisit the old ones but I doubt its those.

Just Modern Warfare 3

 

[rodrigolfp]

Nothing has changed for us boss unless im missing something. I still have to avoid the xbox app like the plague. Not even COD will drag me away from steam.

CoD, Diablo IV, etc on gamepass.

 

[Alebrije]

Dp

 

[clarky]

CoD, Diablo IV, etc on gamepass.

Yeah not for me. I had D4 already on bnet and im not dealing with bimonthly updates on the xbox app for COD, my life is stressful enough.

And i sub to gamepass.

 

[clarky]

MS are 70B in the red for this, they had to cut major operating fat to accelerate their ROI.

Their ROI on the ATVI deal is great. Its an asset so not really in the red either.

You stick money in the bank or buy a house its not "in the red" is it? You just swap some digital numbers for something tangable that creates more digital numbers.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Shareholders of those company benefited. MS bough past performance and got shit returns on future.

 

[Alebrije]

12 months later

 

[HogIsland]

Nothing has changed for us boss unless im missing something. I still have to avoid the xbox app like the plague. Not even COD will drag me away from steam.

CoD is on Steam now, and even Blizzard games are starting to come over.

 

[Beechos]

This has been a good purchase all around.

Xbox players get their games on gamepass
Ps players continue to play their games and laugh at ms.
Bobby got his big payday
Ms gets a bunch of ip, player data/analytics, activision prints money.
Unless activision completely falls apart and turns into ubisoft and stops printing money win for all.

 

[BlackTron]

COD (and King) makes fucktons of money, guess where all that money goes now

It's a pity the 70 billion will take a little longer to recoup because they have to give 30% to Sony, but maybe that will motivate them to have a few teams they bought sell a game instead of just close it.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

The purchase that tilted MS into rapidly going third party. Horrible purchase really.

It was and is the best-case scenario for Xbox though.

 

[clarky]

CoD is on Steam now, and even Blizzard games are starting to come over.

Cod was on steam long before MS took over.

 

[HogIsland]

Cod was on steam long before MS took over.

Modern Warfare 2 is bringing Call of Duty back to Steam

A new tweet from the Steam account teased the return.

www.pcgamer.com

It started dribbling back in summer 2022 after several years of Battlenet exclusivity.

 

[willothedog]

COD (and King) makes fucktons of money, guess where all that money goes now

D4 also made over a billion in its first year.

 

[clarky]

Im

Modern Warfare 2 is bringing Call of Duty back to Steam

A new tweet from the Steam account teased the return.

www.pcgamer.com

It started dribbling back in summer 2022 after several years of Battlenet exclusivity.

Im aware. Before ms took over like i said

 

[clarky]

D4 also made over a billion in its first year.

Also seems to be doing quite well on steam atm.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

It's a pity the 70 billion will take a little longer to recoup because they have to give 30% to Sony, but maybe that will motivate them to have a few teams they bought sell a game instead of just close it.

Agreed, its a pity MS might only get 70% of the 1.5 billion Playstation players spent on COD alone in 2021, per Sony own records.

 

[clarky]

Agreed, its a pity MS might only get 70% of the 1.5 billion Playstation players spent on COD alone in 2021, per Sony own records.

People talk like MS have blown 70billion in Vegas and have nothing to show for it at times.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

People talk like MS have blown 70billion in Vegas and have nothing to show for it at times.

They have zero understanding of how investments work or just arguing in bad faith, maybe even both

 

[HogIsland]

Im
Im aware. Before ms took over like i said

Modern Warfare 2 will be the first CoD released since Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and Microsoft has been bringing more games to Steam in recent years. The Halo series, for instance, as well as Gears 5, Sea of Thieves, Minecraft Dungeons, and the last couple of Forza Horizon games.

 

[cireza]

As an Xbox owner, short term there is no impact. Nothing gained nothing lost... yet. Long term I have some doubts that this will be profitable for people playing on dedicated Xbox hardware. Which sucks. If this happens, I will say goodbye to Xbox consoles and call it a day.

 

[clarky]

As an Xbox owner, short term there is not impact. Nothing gained nothing lost... yet. Long term I have some doubts that this will be profitable for people playing on dedicated Xbox hardware. Which sucks.

i think you'll be fine mate. Don't listen to the voices on this forum.

 

[playbignbox]

Some points:

Xbox owners
Pros: Games on GamePass (like Diablo 4 and CoD BO6 next month)

Cons: MS changed its game release strategy after the acquisition (first party games are no longer exclusive), which collapsed Xbox sales.

---
Phil Spencer
Pros: Xbox division with positive results carried by Activision.

Cons: Phil Spencer is more demoralized than ever, especially with Indiana Jones, a game he negotiated exclusivity for, being announced multiplatform. And the acquisition seems to have benefited Sarah Bond more than Phil Spencer lol

---
Bobby Kotick
Pros: He practically saved Activision from bankruptcy, made a lot of money and many of the negative accusations he was involved in probably wouldn't have consequences, this is definitely the biggest stonks among the choices in the poll.

---
PlayStation owners
Pros: MS Studios games coming to the console.

Cons: If this results in Xbox hardware becoming more irrelevant, the lack of competition in the market could hurt PlayStation users as Sony increasingly takes anti-consumer stances due to its monopoly on the traditional console market.

---
For consumers in general
Cons: MS has shut down studios and put IPs, such as The Evil Within, in limbo.

 

[Begleiter]

Bobby Kotick. He got to walk away from a ship he was slowly sinking with a massive cheque, never being held to account for his sleazy behaviour or that of the people who answered to him.

 

[cireza]

i think you'll be fine mate. Don't listen to the voices on this forum.

There is no hurry in doing anything. I am good with my Series X right now and don't see any issue short term. Future is difficult to tell, FUD is easy to spread though.

 

[Jack Videogames]

I prefer the term "Let go".

Did you land on your feet?

More or less. Landed a new job pretty quickly. But I'd been working as CS for Blizzard for 14 years. Knew the ins and outs. So it's always a bit traumatic

 

[BlackTron]

Agreed, its a pity MS might only get 70% of the 1.5 billion Playstation players spent on COD alone in 2021, per Sony own records.

Yeah they probably don't even care about that half-billion dollar Sony tax.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Yeah they probably don't even care about that half-billion dollar Sony tax.

To pick up a billion a year?

Just in COD from PS players?

I think they are doing ok with that for now.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Bibliography

GamingUK, Retro. My Ass. Made Up Bullshit Publishing, 2024.

R u retarded?

We literally had reams and reams of internal emails from the court docs where Phil and his cronies admitted this was exactly their intention.

 

[BlackTron]

To pick up a billion a year?

Just in COD from PS players?

I think they are doing ok with that for now.

So COD would take 70 years to recoup the big sale, while it could have taken 45 years on their own ecosystem. Just saying, after already dropping 70b, a 30% tax on one of your biggest cash cows has gotta sting.

Of course other assets from the deal are making money (and consuming expenses) so that math shouldn't be taken literally.

 

[clarky]

More or less. Landed a new job pretty quickly. But I'd been working as CS for Blizzard for 14 years. Knew the ins and outs. So it's always a bit traumatic

I am contractor so know the feeling of being out of work all too well. Glad it work out for you.

 

[poppabk]

Yeah they probably don't even care about that half-billion dollar Sony tax.

Don't they get a sweetheart deal from Sony or did that end with the marketing deal?

 

[Jinxed]

>Single-most prolific IP in revenue: likely goes to games like Fortnite​

​

Game generates revenues of 3-5 billions a year. It's out of this world

No wonder a lot of compagnies tried to create the next fortnite.

 

[cireza]

So COD would take 70 years to recoup the big sale

Buying an asset, how does it work ? They bought an asset worth 70B, now they own this asset. Money left to pay : 0$.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

So COD would take 70 years to recoup the big sale, while it could have taken 45 years on their own ecosystem. Just saying, after already dropping 70b, a 30% tax on one of your biggest cash cows has gotta sting.

Of course other assets from the deal are making money (and consuming expenses) so that math shouldn't be taken literally.

Thing is we don't know what their sales would be just in the MS/Xbox ecosystem especially since its now on Gamepass

Walking away from even 70% of 1.5 billion yearly from PS players is impossible to do imo

 

[Guardian Monkey]

As an Xbox owner, short term there is no impact. Nothing gained nothing lost... yet. Long term I have some doubts that this will be profitable for people playing on dedicated Xbox hardware. Which sucks. If this happens, I will say goodbye to Xbox consoles and call it a day.

Dedicated hardware is going next after digital takes over. It's just a matter of when. Why worry about consoles / PC upgrade paths. No one gives a crap about what box/tv you are streaming Netflix on. It just works out of the box. Nvidia has already shown that game streaming is a viable option under the right network conditions. It's only going to get better. Xbox is playing the long game here. We are still probably few years until the technology makes it really available to the masses as a viable alternative solution. At this time Xbox is just working towards the long game here. Let's see how this article looks 9 years from now and Xbox doesnt have to publish elsewhere. I expect it to be the same as looking back when the Switch was announced here or the discussion of digital vs physical, there was a major shift in opinions over time.