Tag Archives: activision

The past few weeks has seen the heat turned up when it comes to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and whether the move is in fact anti-competitive. Amidst all this, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has remained resolute, stating that the console manufacturer will continue to acquire more studios. In …

In recent weeks, Sony has begun taking the offensive by publicly campaigning against Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We've seen Sony lay out its argument against the deal before in regulatory filings, but now, Jim Ryan has been giving juicy quotes to the press, branding Microsoft's post-merger Call of …

Microsoft’s intention to purchase Activision Blizzard for $70 Billion came as a surprise to many when it was first announced earlier this year. Since then, the situation surrounding the publisher’s biggest multi-platform franchises have been in flux – especially Call of Duty. While we do know current deals set in …

We've all assumed that Activision Blizzard games will come to Xbox Game Pass some time after Microsoft completes its acquisition of the company. Today in response to questions around the deal, Xbox head, Phil Spencer, confirmed exactly that.  In a lengthy blog post intended to reassure regulators, gamers and developers, …

In response to news that the UK CMA is moving onto phase two of its investigation into Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has published a new blog post further detailing its plans for the company post-merger. In short, Microsoft is now more firmly committing to keeping Activision Blizzard …

We learned a while ago that the UK authorities had begun their investigation into Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard and after gathering preliminary information, they have come to the decision that Microsoft owning the publisher could impact competition in the market. Now, the CMA will move into phase two …

Just over a week ago, we learned the official opinions of Sony, Ubisoft, WB, Riot and other companies regarding Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Sony naturally had a lot to say and was particularly concerned with Microsoft's growing hold on the subscription market with Game Pass. Now, Microsoft has had a chance to respond, calling Sony for buying 'blocking rights' to keep certain games off of Xbox. 

A couple of years ago following Diablo Immortal's BlizzCon reveal, we learned that Blizzard was also working on a number of other mobile games, several of which were set in the Warcraft universe. This year, one of these games was officially announced, but Blizzard seems to be scrapping two other …

We're over six months on from Microsoft announcing plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, kicking off the lengthy process of gaining approvals from anti-trust organisations across the world. Most of the time, these investigations are highly secretive, but we do know that they involve seeking opinions from competing companies across the industry. Now thanks to recent filings in Brazil, documents containing these opinions have been posted online, giving us insight into what the likes of Sony, Ubisoft, WB and others think of the deal. 

Earlier this year Activision announced that it would be making a return to Steam after years of absence forcing PC players to use the publisher’s own bespoke launcher. Ahead of Activison’s full return to the platform, the publisher now has an official Steam page. Going to https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Activision will now take …

Back in January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in a deal worth a record-breaking $69 billion. However, the deal is far from done, as Microsoft faces regulatory challenges. This week, another hurdle was placed in the way, as the UK's Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) announced plans to …

Call of Duty is continuing its typical release schedule, with this year’s COD, Modern Warfare II, coming from development studio Infinity Ward. Meanwhile Treyarch are working on their own COD title, which isn’t set to come out until 2024 (due to delays). Despite this, a significant number of assets from COD 2024 somehow found their way into Warzone Mobile, giving us a look at maps, guns and more.

We all know that Activision Blizzard is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft, but that isn't stopping the company from making acquisitions of its own. This week, Blizzard confirmed that it has acquired studio Proletariat, the company behind Spellbreak.  Spellbreak launched back in 2018, offering a new take …

The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise has persisted for decades as one of the best in the genre. The series was revived in 2020 with full remakes of the first two games to great success. Unfortunately, while the team at Vicarious Visions were said to be working on a remake …

Since introducing the Ricochet anti-cheat system, the Call of Duty anti-cheat team has been implementing new ways to mess with bad actors in online matches. Previously, cheaters have been unable deal damage to enemy players, have had their ability to see or hear the enemy removed and now, cheaters are …

The Call of Duty franchise is without a doubt one of the biggest in gaming. Ever since the explosive success of 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the first-person shooter franchise has become the game to beat each year when it comes to sales – with very few other …

Ever since Black Ops 4, new Call of Duty games have been absent from the Steam library, with Activision instead choosing to release the games on Blizzard's Battle.net service instead. Last week, we heard that Call of Duty might finally be returning to Steam this year, and now, Valve may …

We've known for some time now that Activision is working on Warzone 2, a refresh of the Battle Royale game for next-gen consoles and PC. Warzone 2 is expected to debut shortly after the release of Modern Warfare 2 later this year, and work on Warzone 2's second major map …

E3 might not be taking place this year, but there will be plenty of other gaming events stepping up in its place. Geoff Keighley has already announced plans for Summer Game Fest as a replacement for E3 this year, and now, Keighley has revealed the full list of studios and …

Back in January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard as part of the largest merger in video games history. It has been a while since we last had an update on the process, but according to Microsoft's President and Vice Chair, things are moving relatively quickly.  Currently, Microsoft plans …

We've known for a while now that Activision is developing a new Call of Duty Battle Royale game for mobile in order to better compete with other popular mobile shooters, like Fortnite, PUBG and soon, Apex Legends. Now, the game has a title of sorts – Project Aurora, and the …

Just over one year ago we reported that Call of Duty Mobile had reached a major milestone, surpassing half a billion downloads since its launch in late 2019. Over the course of the past year, the free-to-play game has continued to balloon in popularity, now surpassing 650 million downloads. In …

The Call of Duty franchise is in an interesting position currently. Though still one of the biggest games of the year every year, the latest game – Call of Duty Vanguard – has seemingly failed to meet sales expectations, with Activision putting the blame on the game’s World War 2 …

Back in 2018, shortly following the reveal for Diablo Immortal, we learned that Blizzard had multiple other mobile games in the works, including a couple based on Warcraft. At the time, we were told to expect a Pokémon Go style game, perhaps with Warcraft pet battles or something similar. Now, …

We have recently seen all manner of video game publishers partaking in what appears to be an acquisition spree. One of the most active participants is Microsoft, Acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68 Billion last year. Despite the surprise announcement, talks between the two actually stretch as far back as the …

Sledgehammer Games hasn't had the best few years. Back in 2019, Treyarch had to step in and take over development of a previous Call of Duty game, leading to Black Ops Cold War, and now, Sledgehammer's most recent title, Vanguard, has launched to middling reception. Still, the Call of Duty …

Activision has a ton of studios under its wing but unfortunately over the last decade, many of them have been relegated to support studio status in an effort to keep the Call of Duty franchise afloat. Soon, Activision studio, Beenox, will be opening up a second studio specifically to work …

Modern Call of Duty games are visual showpieces which offer refined and solid gameplay and visual experiences. Unfortunately, the COD teams have been unable to keep game file sizes in check, leading to inflated download sizes. According to a Warzone dev, this has stunted development, preventing new maps being added …

It is no secret that Call of Duty is currently at a low point, with franchise fatigue setting in once again. In an effort to boost player counts and sales, Activision will be offering a two-week free trial for Vanguard, the longest free trial period for any Call of Duty …

While Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to a merger, there are a number of hurdles still left to clear before the acquisition can happen. Aside from regulators, the deal also needs to be approved by Activision Blizzard shareholders.  Activision Blizzard shareholders will need to vote on whether to sell …