Hey all, PCR here.
A great disturbance was felt through The Force recently when Microsoft announced they were buying Activision/Blizzard in an all cash deal. As a (former) long time World of Warcraft and Hearthstone player, I have a bit of a soft spot for Blizzard… I met many amazing friends, some of which have become “in person” amazing friends I’ve had for years… and, (as one of those friends said recently) “I don’t regret one minute of the time I played.. but I also don’t regret the day I walked away”.
I have far less history with Microsoft (gaming). I don’t have GamePass, and as far as consoles go, I had an OG XBox and a Series S (both of which I sold).
That said, this merger COULD be good for gaming, it could also be bad.
Here’s my thoughts…
Pros : With chip shortages still making consoles amazingly hard to find, this is going to get a LOT more games into a LOT more hands quicker.
: The offerings on GamePass are about to get a LOT more interesting and varied.
: Microsoft could do a lot to mitigate thoughts they’re becoming (more) of the “all-controlling, evil empire” by cleaning house at Activision and removing the personnel and other elements that plagued the company over the recent years
Cons : There’s ZERO guarantee Microsoft will clean house from problematic elements of Activision, which could/would be seen as rewarding that kind of behavior/environment as long as bottom line numbers are met.
: Could create a far bigger ‘Exclusively on…’ rift in the gaming industry.
: WIll Microsoft having that kind of control in the gaming industry stifle developers?
There’s a LOT that’s unknown, and I am far from having professional insight in the gaming community, but it will be interesting to see how this affects the overall landscape of gaming/cloud gaming.
What do YOU think?
