This is the Way the Industry Ends.

Welp, Microsoft has cleared a major hurdle in their attempt to buy out the biggest publisher in the industry, effectively disguising their disgusting attempt at a monopoly under the banner of "increased customer choice." While the merger isn't a done deal still, it's looking pretty hopeless for those of us who want to see a competitive, vibrant console gaming industry.

Of course, Xbox fanboys are cheering, only able to see things through a tribal lens. They make false equivalencies with Sony purchasing declining studios like Psygnosis or upstarts like Naughty Dog or their exclusivity deals with companies (ignoring Microsoft having done both things as well well) or claiming that it's somehow Sony's fault that the Xbox One and Series X are in the sorry state that they're in, as opposed to the bad choices of Microsoft themselves.

It wasn't that long ago that the Xbox 360 was the best console of the generation. Hungry and shooting for the stars, Peter Moore's leadership turned the Xbox from the "Halo system" that they were in the 6th gen to a major force in the industry, growing to the point that even Japan could no longer ignore Microsoft, with Square Enix and Capcom essentially forced to put out Final Fantasy XIII Devil May Cry 4 on the platform in order to retain their market reach.

Then came Dan Mattrick.

Microsoft stopped courting Japanese development, stopped trying to get deals with 3rd parties for the system, and let its first party studios atrophy, including the spinning off of Bungie, the studio that gave Microsoft their first and biggest hit. Dan Mattrick didn't see the value of the gaming market, and sought to reposition Xbox as an all-around entertainment and streaming box (this despite the popularity of Roku at the time) and believed that gamers would simply go along with whatever they dictated, including that hilariously bad DRM that we all remember. Sony, by contrast, never slowed its efforts to build up its first party, or to preserve and build relationships with 3rd party studios, and retained their belief in the traditional games console, allowing them to dunk on Microsoft in a severe way.

For all Phil Spencer's talk of rebuilding the Xbox brand when he took over from Mattrick, nothing of the sort has happened. Aside from Rise of the Tomb Raider, there's been no real attempt to cut deals to lure 3rd parties their way, and the recent Gears and Halo games shows us that there's still no commitment to building a first party that's worth a damn. As a result, the Xbox One remained the joke it had been at launch, particularly outside of North America, Microsoft's only consistently competitive market. Instead, they refocused on a more service-based ecosystem, trying to kill off the concept of buying games entirely. For the longest time, the only thing the Xbox fanboys have had to gloat about was Game Pass, as that was the only thing Microsoft focused on. The Series X looked to be more of the same.

And then they bought Bethesda. And now they're trying to buy the single biggest entity in all of gaming.

Instead of trying to build a brand, they're looking for shortcuts. They can't build success, so they're going to use their endless Windows and Office money to brute-force their way into market dominance. There can be no doubt now, that they're not interested in competition. They're not going to stop buying things until people have no choice but to buy into Game Pass.

There are only three possible scenarios that can come from this acquisition spree.

1) This goes the way of Microsoft's other attempts to force their way into markets, and Microsoft cuts the bull crap. Their endless money didn't buy them success with Zune, or Windows Mobile, or Mixer, and since they had no clue how to build a presence in those markets organically, they eventually gave up. Now, while Microsoft outright leaving the games industry would be every bit as tragic as them getting the monopoly they so obviously desire, but a lack of success that forces them to revisit how they did business when Peter Moore was running the Xbox brand would be great for everyone. This is the only possible good scenario.

2) Microsoft simply continues buying every publisher in sight until they eventually buy all the major IPs, enabling them to essentially dictate the way the industry is run. Nintendo and Sony only have their first party and some smaller Japanese studios left, while Microsoft gets away with selling systems and games at exorbitant prices. Needless to say, this is the nightmare scenario.

3) The most likely, and the most "modest" outcome would be Sony and MS both entering an arms race, with both companies buying every company they can, building their consoles into impenetrable forces. There'd be no way to get major IPs on the opposing console. Basically every game is exclusive to one platform or another. Sony pulls back from releasing games on PC for fear of benefiting Microsoft. The death of the third party, and with it, the death of the mainstream gaming industry.

At least Nintendo will still be doing whatever the hell it's doing, and will likely survive in any scenario. Small comfort, but there's that.

Needless to say, there's very little chance of this being a good thing for consumers. The 9th generation is already turning out to be a bit of a popcorn fart, with releases slow to come and so often failing to meet any expectations at all. I'm not sure what the segregation of every single IP by whichever of these two multi-billion dollar corporations does to help things get better, or why anyone believes the 10th or 11th generations will be any better.

However, the Xbox fanboys are having a great time now, secure in their purchase of one console over another. Enjoy Starfield and all the future installments of Fallout and TES, and of course Call of Duty after Microsoft is done with the deals they had to put out there to look like they're not looking to monopolize the industry. I hope this isn't the start of something worse, but I've no real faith in the future.

This looks very System-Wars material and not relevant to Games Discussion.

And let's be real, Bethesda and Activision are not the companies they once was. Those holding onto early 2000's nostalgia with the highest of praise are the real victims here, thinking these two houses will bring about substantial change to the industry now they're under Microsoft.

Microsoft grabbed them as the buildings came crumbling down, and I almost feel bad for them doing it. That's a lot of baggage. CoD is the only IP that will make a crack and I doubt it'll be as big as some are thinking. Good for Microsoft I say getting Call of Duty. Maybe now people will shut up saying Microsoft has "no games". And once more maybe buying these decrepit companies will give them some new life. Because boi do they need it; Skyrim was 2011 folks Bethesda Game Studios has done nothing worth a mention since! Activision Blizzard on the other hand just have so many staff issues over its product quality; or should I remind you of War Craft III: Reforged_

The Microsoft buy-outs have been in posts for years and I'm honestly sick of pretending it's worth reading about on this forum. As noted Call of Duty is the biggest game on the plate and it's not even as big as it once was, it's going the way of Grand Theft Auto Online, is it a big deal still? sure but it's now tide to a certain demographic, one that probably played a lot of MW on the 360, dying a little more each year. It's not Pokémon (the biggest media franchise on the planet). It's not like some of the modern smash-hits either with younger overall audiences: Genshin Impact, Fornite, Apex Legends, PUBG, etc. These are all bigger than CoD in 2023, welcome to the present.

What else did Microsoft get from the deal? Overwatch is dying out (due to the companies own blunders), WoW has been sliding for a long time, and only the new Diablo seems profitable from Blizzards end. As the meme above notes Activision Blizzard is still chock-full of molestation illegal tabu too, that I wouldn't even look at a game twice before the buy-out even began. Though I'm guessing Microsoft just wanted that CoD money while it's still semi-warm.

Back onto the other buy-out, to repeat Bethesda hasn't been a good developer in close to a decade, I liked FO4 but general word was mixed, they've only succeeded as a publisher with the first two Tango GameWorks games, early Arkane and id Software carrying my personal interest (Hi-Fi seems cool too even if 'sold' as a free service game). Bethesda Game Studios did Fall Out 76 and TES: Blades; nothing to get excited for, just wait for The Wayward Realms (former Bethesda employees) who are making a TES successor, and that will be multi-platform.

Jim stupid Ryan and Phil dumb as bricks Spencer are just petty children crying about "losing" wars in the playground. I honestly don't care, and I doubt majority who play games do either. Both those men should be fired and replaced with competent people who love video games.

@RSM-HQ:

This looks very System-Wars material and not relevant to Games Discussion.

Honestly, I was hoping to dodge the partisan nonsense of System Wars. I'm not coming at this from being pro-Sony or Anti-MS. I find reducing things to playground tribes to be not only distasteful, but counterproductive to any form of rational discussion. As I mention in the post, I adore the Xbox 360, and even enjoyed the Xbone. However, I find a lot of the people cheering the merger are doing so from a place of fanboyism while ignoring the potential for long-term harm to the industry as a whole, including MS. One need only look at Disney's attempt to buy absolutely everything in sight and the negative effects it's had on them financially to see that, even for a company as huge as Microsoft, this isn't a healthy way to do business.

Those holding onto early 2000's nostalgia with the highest of praise are the real victims here, thinking these two houses mean anything in 2023. Microsoft grabbed them as the buildings came crumbling down, and I almost feel bad for them doing it. That's a lot of baggage.

Haha, in that we agree. Since Skyrim, the only real "impact" Zenimax has made is with the Id properties. I'm skeptical that Starfield will really be playable, or that TES6 will even be released this generation (though I'm sure they'll try to release Skyrim again). As to Activision, I can't really remember the last thing I bought from them. The Crash remake collection, I think? And the last one before that was probably CoD:WW2. They've gone off my radar almost as bad as EA at this point, and even with EA, that Dead Space remake looks interesting.

The Microsoft buy-outs have been in posts for years and I'm honestly sick of pretending it's worth reading about on this forum. Call of Duty is the biggest game on the plate and it's not even as big as it once was, is it a big deal still? sure but it's not PUBG or Genshin, let along Pokémon (the biggest media franchise on the planet). Overwatch is dying out (due to the companies own blunders), WoW has been sliding for a long time, and only the new Diablo seems profitable from Blizzards end. As the meme above notes Activision Blizzard is still chock-full of molestation illegal tabu too, that I wouldn't even look at a game twice before the buy-out even began.

PUBG's still a thing? I thought that crowd mostly moved over to Fortnite. However, it's hard to argue that Call of Duty isn't a consistent, yearly bestseller, and a superpower that people would no doubt switch systems for. As someone in that article mentioned, it'd be nice to see Sony bring back SOCOM or Killzone in response, but I'm not sure that's as likely to happen as a race to buy other major third parties. I hope that we can both agree that Sony and MS playing acquisition leapfrog benefits no one. You are right, however, that the rest of Activision Blizzard are in severe decline, and I honestly doubt that Diablo IV will have anywhere near the long tail the company would need to offset the slow-motion deaths of WoW and Overwatch. Looking back at it, the fact that so much of the discussion about the Activision buyout was focused on Call of Duty and not anything else tells us a lot about the state of the company.

just wait for The Wayward Realms (former Bethesda employees) who are making a TES successor, and that will be multi-platform.

Hm, hadn't heard of this. Might need to take a closer look.

Jim stupid Ryan and Phil dumb as bricks Spencer are just petty children crying about "losing" wars. I honestly don't care, and I doubt majority who play games do either. Both those men should be fired and replaced with competent people who love video games.

In this, I don't think we can possibly disagree, and it's probably not just them that would need to go. Whatever the case, I would love nothing more than for this not to lead to any major issues, and for the industry to remain vibrant and competitive, with enough alternatives that we never have to embrace anti-consumer nonsense to keep doing what we love, which as you mention, is video games.

Still, I do find Spencer the most disappointing. He really did seem like a needed change from Mattrick at first.

Microsoft buying Activision was a great move for the whole industry.

If Microsoft fails it will singlehandedly wipe the shitiest Publisher around, if they succeed they'll turn it into something at least half decent. I see no negative outcome honestly.

@kathaariancode: Maybe even a decent Guitar Hero revival.

@kathaariancode:

Well, given how Rare went, I don't expect a real revival in Activision's quality, but I honestly hope they at least put in a proper effort. Goodness knows, it'd be hard to be worse than the last four years of Activision's business.

Haha, some dreams are a bit too big. ;)

This is all just my opinion (obviously), so take it with a grain of salt, but I think this is how grassroots movements, alternatives, and more come about as well.

The industry isn't ending, it's evolving in two directions. The already-bad AAA game industry is getting worse by evolving into this unholy gargantuan, as it has been for over a decade.

Conversely, independent and small-scale developers and publishers are growing. They are taking a small bite of the market share each year. Many are failures, some are small successes, but we also get insanely awesome success stories like Battlebit and Valheim and more.

The latter, imo, is starting to concern the former. It's why we see AAA studios making less new IP's, and buying up studios left and right. They are consolidating. Fortifying against the incoming horde of vastly superior independent/small-scale games that are taking over slowly but surely.

Or so I hope, at least. Probably wishful thinking on my part.

Sony would've done exactly the same if they could afford it.

Also not sure why people think owning ABK would make MS win the games industry with a monopoly. So silly.

I personally don't care what happens, at all. I have no plans to use any ABK products now or anytime in the future. Nothing will change.

I was always more a DDR fan but Guitar Hero was a good fun time, but you are right that they'll never go back, they overdid it and ran the well dry.

Pretty much, this isn't 2007. Call of Duty is on the down-swing and not rising to new standards. Before the buy-out even began Activision fired a large chunk of the staff who worked on Warzone and CoD Mobile, the companies current profit maker. The yearly releases spend so much on marketing that I don't know even if they're making profit anymore, which is what I assume Microsoft will cut the budget for first, is the stupid marketing campaigns for CoD.

The company is having inside issues with sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct complaints that have been raised in just the past few weeks. Let alone what we've read for three years now.

If anything Microsoft saw them at the lowest point possible and said "what can we salvage from the wreckage", at minimum they get some of those billion dollars back from the Call of Duty brand. In 2028 they may have made that money back from CoD alone if they play it right.

At best we see a World of Warcraft 2 and it's only on Gamepass, making Microsoft very happy. But don't count on it, we've seen how the Blizzard department is failing to achieve anything substantial. I doubt Activision has much talent left to do anything Microsoft would want long-term outside Diablo stuff, and will instead have to outsource those IPs to other developers. I can easily see id Software handling a future CoD game.

Oh boy did they ever! I remember just how many of those games were being pumped out. Though if you want to talk about something being milked dry, nothing beats "toys to life." Remember that money pit for parents?

The company is having inside issues with sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct complaints that have been raised in just the past few weeks. Let alone what we've read for three years now.

I know you mentioned it before, but that's actually an interesting thing I haven't really thought of. Didn't Microsoft consider the legal liability that taking Activision in would cause?

If anything Microsoft saw them at the lowest point possible and said "what can we salvage from the wreckage", at minimum they get some of those billion dollars back from the Call of Duty brand. In 2028 they may have made that money back from CoD alone if they play it right.

I'm not sure if I'd call a $69 billion (ugh, it's like an Elon Musk offer) offer a salvage bid. Still, you're not wrong that the best days of both parts of Activision Blizzard are long behind them. It's almost as if making everything a cynical attempt at trying to siphon every last dime out of people's pockets alienates people who aren't already fanboys. Diablo IV is doing well, but if the discussion on Youtube is anything to go by, I wonder about its legs outside of those ardent fanboys. You already mentioned how dead Overwatch is (if not for "cultured" Source Filmmaker and Blender movies, I'd have forgotten that game even existed).

At best we see a World of Warcraft 2 and it's only on Gamepass, making Microsoft very happy.

Would that make Microsoft especially pleased at this point? Is there even that big a player base for TES Online? I'm not sure if Microsoft would want another MMO on its hands, especially as it probably wouldn't offer any real competition to FFXIV.

I can easily see id Software handling a future CoD game.

Actually, is there an id Software development team? The new Doom and Wolfenstein games were developed by Machinegames (another Bethesda acquisition) IIRC. Not that I would object to a CoD by them, mind... Long as they were given the time they need to make a good game.

On a side note, you've done the most to ease my own concerns about this acquisition. I'm still suspicious and wondering what Sony will gobble up in response, but maybe there's some hope for this silly little industry yet.

Now do you see why I avoided System Wars? :)

@YukoAsho:

I know you mentioned it before, but that's actually an interesting thing I haven't really thought of. Didn't Microsoft consider the legal liability that taking Activision in would cause?

I don't know what Microsoft's plan is for this. Probably that with all these issues the company is more vulnerable for the sell. Plan to sweep it under the rug or pay off any complaints. Just look at Ubisoft, these big companies get away with murder given enough time, and customers easily forget.

I don't see anyone playing Diablo 4 worried that they're funding rapists, fandoms have short attention spans so they think it's old news.

I'm not sure if I'd call a $69 billion (ugh, it's like an Elon Musk offer) offer a salvage bid.

If you've heard or read some of what has come to light about the heads of Microsoft, they're heavily grasping at straws while crying about being "third place". They're making moves with the idea it will pay off 'long-term' while being irrational short-term. They are not doing very clever plays assuming this'll work out. They're just 'hoping' it will. So an Elon Musk joke is pretty accurate

Phil Spencer isn't far off that line of logic. Not that I think any better about Jim Ryan. As I made it very clear, they're both stupid irrational children that are bad for gaming in general.

I'm not sure if Microsoft would want another MMO on its hands, especially as it probably wouldn't offer any real competition to FFXIV.

WoW is one of the most profitable video games of all time. WoW at its peak dwarfed any Call of Duty game ever, easily. And it was locked on one platform (P.C.); now imagine a sequel that is not just on P.C. but to a line of Xbox consoles. I think a full fledged and good World of Warcraft 2 would do really well, and the market is open for a new MMO. It's probably just never going to be WoW2. Too much work and who's gonna work on it? Activision Blizzard can't even get Overwatch right anymore.

Using FFXIV is interesting, as that game before Realm Reborn had a very rocky launch and was failing horribly, not to mention only got more popular as WoW started to have troubles thanks to all of Blizzards issues with 'attempting' to stop staff squealing and the constant fighting against its fanbase. The engine for FFXIV is also thirteen years old. It's old when you look at the game logically. It's not a new fresh game, the team at Square Enix are just passionate, talented, and listen to its fanbase. Not to mention seems they treat staff well. Remarkable achievement.

Going back however I just don't think anyone at Blizzard can make a new MMO that people would want, and do they even have the talent to start it, no. But if they did? WoW2 would be a smash-hit for sure. They'll just never put together a team or provide the funding to make it happen. Microsoft would rather use that money to probably buy a new company once this one is all dusted off.

Activision Blizzard has heavily lost touch with its fanbase and is on a decline. And how much of that will Microsoft fix/ restore? no one can tell or call. It's unlikely it'll have any real change, simply cashing-in on CoD while the money is still semi-hot is the easy and probable answer.

I've already listed a bunch of games bigger than CoD in 2023, how big will CoD be in 2030? Probably not very, it's an oversaturated franchise that has already remade Modern Warfare twice to try remain relevant. And don't get me wrong, CoD will always sell a few million for being a multiplayer shooter, but that's not gonna cover those multi million ad campaigns or what Microsoft wants from a multi billion dollar deal. They, want, more.

Actually, is there an id Software development team? The new Doom and Wolfenstein games were developed by Machinegames (another Bethesda acquisition) IIRC.

Incorrect. D00M Eternal & D00M 2016 was developed by id Software not Machine Gun Games. The games also play drastically different from the Wolfenstein & D00M reboots.

I do not know if the team id Software and talent plan to stick around but they did make the last two D00M games and all the DLC that went with it. Prior & during they've helped Bethesda with a few other games, they apparently played a part with the combat in Fall Out 4.

Machine Games have recently done the port for the original Quake, along with a new expansion with it.

@RSM-HQ: I looked up the whole DOOM reboot thing, and yeah, that was apparently internal at id, while Machinegames did Wolfenstein and, as you say, the Quake remaster.

Honestly, at this point, I'm kinda just exhausted with the drama over this stupid acquisition, and the Systerm Wars style wankery in comment sections isn't helping. Seems like you're one of only a tiny handful of users that aren't looking at it through this lens, and I hope you feel the same of me at the very least.

You're probably also right about a potential WoW 2, I'm sure it'd be a massive success, at least at first. I just wonder how long it would take for them to kill the golden goose a la Overwatch (which really should have been even bigger than it was) even if they could make a game like that now.

At the end, I guess I'm just wanting to move on. If worst comes to worst and the merger destroys the industry, I've got more than enough games that I'll probably die before finishing them all. Let's just see if this generation actually improves, or continues to be a slow and depressing drip-feed of disappointing releases.

That's how I feel, Activision isn't even good. So either they make them better or the just die or stay crap. Doesn't matter.

@YukoAsho: I'm a little bit of a id Software fanboi so was pretty aware, even if I don't really like the direction Eternal went in. Like the odd shooter now and then. Lean more towards what has been dubbed Boomer Shooters. Dusk being one of my favorite games in the past decade.

Likewise this and the whole Hogwarts thing is the reason I took some time away from the forum, can't stand it, I like to think I'm a reasonable level-headed person but these forum posts. . they really get under my skin. Game Spot community (plenty of members are great) are starting to get on my last nerve. No one really seems to just wanna chat about games anymore. I'm getting pretty fed-up with the whole 'it's all about politics within gaming' nonsense.

And it's more apparent when I go to other communities that just want to chat about games, then come back here and it's all about agendas and overall toxicity. When did Games Discussion become a 4chan Subreddit?

At the end, I guess I'm just wanting to move on. If worst comes to worst and the merger destroys the industry

Think you give Activision and Bethesda too much credit to believe they have any impact on gaming as a whole. At best they're a slice of the pie.

If anything they just have a lingering fandom that is too deep in denial to move-on that gets a little smaller each going year.

If you've been seeing gaming news this week BGIII (a game I'm very excited for) has got some indie developers vocal about customers realistic expectations for smaller studios. Reasonable right.

But wait it gets a little weird. To everyone's surprise Activision Blizzard aka a head of Diablo 4 felt they too are part this sentiment of these small time studios.

Noting AB should not be held to Larian Studios "standards" and do not have the resources to make a game such as BGIII. . You know. . the company that is being bought for 68 Billion Dollars. Which as you would imagine raised a lot of eyebrows_

Embarrassing, and explains why Diablo 4 is a lot more 'mainstream' than fans wanted it to be. Considering they've got way more resources and have a much larger backlog portfolio than Larian, but have accepted they're never going to make a game that grand, not again anyway. This has killed any hope that WoW2 is even in discussion.

And don't get me wrong I think Baldur's Gate III is going to be the best RPG we've had for sometime in terms of scope, choice and play-experimentations. But if a company as big as Activision Blizzard notes they'll never make a game with this much love, passion, and player freedom? That just means they're going the microtransaction route and are not looking back. They have no obligation to make a grand game that exceeds expectations, they're settling for mediocrity.

Let's just see if this generation actually improves, or continues to be a slow and depressing drip-feed of disappointing releases.

All in preference I suppose but this has been one of my favorite years in gaming in a very long time. Namely thanks to Capcom, Street Fighter 6 has been my whole summer lol. Baldur's Gate III and Alone in the Dark (demo was promising) are just going to make winter all the more sweet.

@RSM-HQ: A good boomer shooter is always fun. Have you tried HROT? Very much the same kind of game, though with a very defined aesthetic that calls back to the developer's Chech roots. I'm also looking to pick up Postal:Brain Damaged, another seemingly cool boomer shooter.

Holy ****... Someone at AB said that!?!? Maybe I AM giving too much credit to them. I can't believe any developer or publisher would say "don't judge us by the standard of these little guys." Even EA has more tact.

And the year has been good enough, the generation as a whole has been a lot quieter, at least at the AAA end of the market. With the obvious exception of Nintendo, we've not had much new to really rave over. This year at least we've got Trepang2, Resident Evil 4 remake, SF 6, Tears of the Kingdom ($60 at Costco), Baldur's Gate III and a few others. I don't think anyone can argue that the noise in the 9th gen have been in the smaller studios much more than AAA.

At best Microsoft will turn things around and save ActiBlizz, which I view as a sinking ship in recent years. They could revitalize the Blizzard IPs. At worst, ActiBliz just sits there and doesn't do anything like most of the other devs Microsoft has bought.

I highly doubt the industry will "end" based off of this merger. I think the only people it really effects are Microsoft and ActiBlizz, and not so much the rest of the gaming industry.

And Microsoft has tried to get the Japanese games for years. Something always goes wrong. I personally do not put the blame for Japanese devs avoiding the XBOX consoles on Microsoft - I put it on Japanese devs. The fact of the matter is if you're a small Japanese developer you are probably going to want to put your game on either the quirky and less expensive Japanese console (Switch) or the powerful and pricey Japanese console (Playstation), and the XBOX just can't move units over there no matter what they do. While we're at it we can talk about how most of Europe also bought the PS5.

I don't honestly know what the future holds for XBOX. I have one, I like it, but it has pretty much become the "Fortnite" machine for me. I don't really see enough quality exclusives on the system that I want to play, nor do I even have a lot of time for a bunch of games these days. I'm not sure the Playstation would fare much better for me. Nintendo is the company that makes the most interesting games, but then they have outdated hardware. It really might have been great if it was Nintendo buying XBOX instead, since XBOX has the reverse problem.

All I do know is, if XBOX goes away, then Playstation loses a major competitor. And that might not be so good for the industry.

@YukoAsho: I actually did jump on HROT, very dim on the color palette but is a nice alternative for anyone who played a game like Dusk and wanted a little more.

The recent Boltgun was also a decent time even if level design was pretty bland and basic. Phantom Fury is one in the future I have my eye-on.

I can understand your want for a fresh generation to have a certain broadness instead of only hitting certain notes. Certain studios and developers are bringing amazing games, yet some genres and formally beloved companies are just sad rotten corpses.

Those companies people grew up with are simply not providing the goods anymore; Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Ubisoft they're all essentially in 'do or die' situations and even Rockstar is getting kinda lazy and shipping bad products. They're past the point relying on GTA Online indefinitely.

And I would say namely here on Game Spot these gaming companies/ studios mentioned above use to be some of the most highly praised.

At least Electronic Arts seems to have gotten the memo, they've recently been doing a good job and a few years ago I would note they'd be the first down the drain, but glad to be proven wrong and they're looking to have a bright future.

@RSM-HQ: I was mesmerized by ONE thing in that last post. Rockstar has shipped products? I've not seen anything but GTA 5 re-releases from them since RDR 2. I was under the impression that they were just living off GTA Online exclusively.

Hate to remind you. But something did come after Red Dead Redemption 2, and I don't mean Dan Houser leaving the company (which he did years ago now).

The Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: The Definitive Collection was released, a proclaimed defining remake of the original trilogy. And no it's not in a good place even now_

@RSM-HQ: Oh Lord in Heaven, I forgot about that dumpster fire. Thank goodness for emulation keeping the classic versions alive.

@YukoAsho: I think you’re right in the OP. Things aren’t looking that good. Well…you could say we’ve had 3 good decades…the 90s and 2000 and 2010s…..even I would say the past 3 1/2 years have been superb.

But I won’t be holding my breath for greatness in gaming. Is there going to be that one good game that everyone will be impressed and talking about every once in a while?? Sure.

Oh the drama! One thing that we can be certain about capitalism is that the further it advances the worst a product gets. In other words, the idealism behind the product dies and behavioural science and manipulation start guiding development. That's truth for something like healthcare, food and games also have entered that fase of the cycle. The relationship between business and costumer is no longer "sacred", costumers are now cattle that ultimately must be sacrificed in the name of perpetually growing share prices.

In case of gaming that means extracting as much money as possible from users (curious word they choose to call us, but fitting) manipulating human behaviour in intentionally malignant ways. The naive idea they try to sell is that they are just following market trends but the reality is that they are exploiting known human vulnerabilities to create those trends. In my opinion this is one of the reasons why governments exist, but hey at the end of the day we're fine with cultivating gambling addiction into our children, or exploit human psychology in general, because we shouldn't interfere with that mighty deity we call "The Markets". Amen!

That's how the industry ends. Sony buying Bungee or MS buying Activision are a result of that. They were bought not because they make great games but because they are experts at milking their users dry. Microsoft even gets 2 for 1 because since WoW Blizzard has been a pioneer in cultivating a solid base of addicted fans willing to throw money at them. I know they are loved but I've always disliked them, and I remember clearly being at a family dinner with a younger cousin telling me all about this new Warcraft game - a series I used to truly enjoy - and my reaction being similar to the OP. Gaming is fucked. I saw it clearly as water what that would bring. Worst, when I saw a close friend "disappearing", neglecting friends and his college studies because of that game. That's what kills this industry, when the innocence of creativity is lost for engagement metrics and exploiting mechanics.

Having said that, at the end of the day I don't care. Because just like with music or cinema there's more to games than those engagement traps, so, I'll just support games I enjoy in a way I enjoy. From smaller stuff to big there's plenty of good around. I just will never spend a cent in microtransactions and won't support GaaS games. Also I almost never play any online stuff. It's up to us to create that "market trend".

This acquisition really, I fail to see the drama. I would be more concerned with Bethesda if they weren't already struggling, because as much as we like to cry, superb games like Dishonored and Prey have little chance in present times and it's safer to milk ESO, Skyrim and FO76 than to keep pumping great new single player games.

I'm just glad we're getting a game like this, and I don't care if it was home-baked by some familiar company, or just bought up. Who cares? Just gimme good, deep games to enjoy.