Microsoft consolidating the video game industry is bad for everyone- Engadget

daredevils2k · 2022-01-19 10:10:04

It was cute at first. When Xbox head Phil Spencer took the stage at E3 2018 and announced the acquisition of five notable studios – Undead Labs, Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games and The Initiative – the air inside the Microsoft Theater turned electric. It felt like the company was righting a wrong in its business plan and finally building an internal roster of exciting games that it could offer exclusively on Xbox platforms. You know, a few friends to keep Master Chief company.Today’s announcement that Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard, the largest third-party publisher in the video game industry, doesn’t feel as harmless. Four years on and numerous acquisitions later, the Activision Blizzard deal feels like an extreme escalation of Microsoft’s plans, and it could mark a turning point in the video game industry as a whole, with negative consequences for both players and developers.So far, public reaction to the acquisition has been mixed, which makes sense for a few reasons: first, Activision Blizzard's sheer size is daunting, and this purchase represents more money and industry power than Microsoft's previous gaming acquisitions combined. Second, Activision Blizzard is currently the subject of multiple investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination at the studio, where CEO Bobby Kotick has been in charge and largely unchecked for the past 30 years. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Kotick is poised to leave the company in a golden parachute once the Microsoft deal goes through.This is the first time Microsoft has received a confused response to acquisition news, rather than outright praise, and that's because this isn't a standard transaction. It's the clearest sign yet that we're in the video game industry's era of consolidation.Back in 2017, Microsoft was badly losing the first-party IP fight to Sony and Nintendo. By the end of that year, Xbox had shut down two of its internal studios, Lionhead and Press Play, it had killed a few hotly anticipated projects, and even with the Xbox Series X right around the corner, there wasn’t much to look forward to in the company’s software reserves. The acquisition announcement at E3 2018 was a sigh of relief for anxious Xbox fans.By February 2019, Microsoft had 13 studios and publishing organizations under the banner of Xbox Game Studios. And then in September 2020, Microsoft revealed it was buying ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, id Software, Arkane Studios and Tango Gameworks. The gaming world generally rejoiced, but a few folks also started glancing around, suspicious. These studios were a big deal – the stewards of Fallout, Doom, Dishonored, Wolfenstein, Deathloop, Starfield and Elder Scrolls – and they were being added to Microsoft’s substantial pile of medium-sized companies, more names in a growing list. That alone was cause for pause.For most fans, the main question was, what did the acquisition mean for games like The Elder Scrolls VI, which was part of a series that historically hit PlayStation and Xbox platforms alike? Basically, would Elder Scrolls VI come to PS4 and PS5?Turns out, probably not.One year after Microsoft’s purchase of Bethesda, Spencer told GQthat he believed the Xbox ecosystem was the best place for all of the franchises in the studio’s repertoire, including The Elder Scrolls VI. He all but confirmed it would be exclusive to Xbox.“It’s not about punishing any other platform, like I fundamentally believe all of the platforms can continue to grow,” Spencer told GQ. “But in order to be on Xbox, I want us to be able to bring the full complete package of what we have. And that would be true when I think about Elder Scrolls VI. That would be true when I think about any of our franchises.”Starfield, Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG built for the ninth console generation, will definitely be exclusive to Xbox Series X/S and PC, skipping PS5 entirely. Spencer’s comments make it clear that Xbox is eyeing exclusivity for its franchises, and after today’s $69 billion deal goes through, that’s going to include Activision Blizzard games. Activision Blizzard is the largest third-party publisher in gaming, and it’s the owner of massive franchises including Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone and Candy Crush. As a third-party studio, Activision Blizzard has been able to negotiate with the main platform holders to get its software on the consoles and devices it wants. This doesn’t always equate to same-day launches or in-game item equity, but generally speaking, this position has helped ensure Activision Blizzard games reach as many players on as many platforms as possible. Exclusivity agreements and distribution deals are the main source of competition in the industry at this point, allowing outside developers to advocate for their games without feeling beholden to any console owner in particular.When a platform holder becomes the largest publisher in gaming, it flips the script completely. It jams the script into a shredder, burns the scraps to ash, condenses the ash into stone, and then throws that to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.Let’s take Call of Duty, a series with predictable annual installments, for example. Over the years, Activision has shifted allegiances between Microsoft and Sony, offering early access and exclusive game modes to Xbox platforms, then PlayStation, and mixing it up along the way. Among all the backroom talks, bad blood and better offers, it’s always been up to Activision to cut the best deal for Call of Duty, console holders be damned.After the acquisition, that negotiation looks entirely different, if it even exists at all. As the owner of Call of Duty, Microsoft can tell Sony to screw off, keeping one of the industry’s biggest franchises exclusive to Xbox platforms.This likely won’t happen right away, but it’s certainly a possibility down the line. In his blog post about the acquisition, Xbox’s Spencer didn’t address Sony or Nintendo platforms specifically, but he alluded to the possibility of cross-platform support for Activision Blizzard’s franchises.“Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those ...

Pedro

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#151 Pedro

Member since 2002 • 70540 Posts

@gifford38 said:

@Pedro: evidence cameout of Phil's mouth. He said Microsoft was going to drop Xbox because it was losing money until Phil went in and begged them to give it to him. They lost so much money sense the original Xbox. Got to admit Phil did save the Xbox. But Xbox one was there last console phil said.

Please share the link to your claim.

2 years ago

sealionact

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#152 sealionact

Member since 2014 • 9839 Posts

@vfighter said:

@sealionact: Success must mean very different things to you vs others. Xbox has never made a dime since the day it first came out, it's been in the red the entire time. Even the 360 failed to actually make money because of the rrod. Now with nearly 80 billion spent I don't see how they won't stay in the red for decades to come.

Yeah, I’m going to need to see some kind of source for your claim. Honestly, the reaction by some people to all this is kind of pitiful; “Gamepass will be $50/F**k Xbox/Xbox hasn’t made any money in nearly 20 years/Nobody buys Activision games anyway” and so on.
No Wonder Sony is the butt of so many jokes these days…..

2 years ago

sealionact

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#153 sealionact

Member since 2014 • 9839 Posts

@mazuiface said:

@Pedro said:

@mazuiface said:

This level of consolidation is of course bad for the entire industry. As much as fanboys want to blame Sony for making successful games for their platform, the Actiblizz acquisition is the biggest ever in gaming and more than most entertainment deals, overshadowed by Disney which is another evil corporation. Microsoft is being the same company they have been since the 90s and people are coming full circle.

Anyone who thinks that this spells a good future for gaming is a moron. Really.

The problem I have with folks like you is that this behavior has ALWAYS been a problem but only now it is being voiced after the marginalization of this practice by Sony for years. The main difference is that MS is taking what Sony has done to the next level and suddenly you all are concerned. If anyone celebrated acquisitions and/or exclusives prior, then your complaints are hollow, just as your concerns.

Lol You again with this? Perhaps you were in a coma in the days of the 360 where games would be *announced* for PS3 only to never release on PS3. Years later it would be revealed that a moneyhat prevented the release. (The Last Remnant, Tales of Vesperia, etc)

*or* the devs were approached by MS and told to make the game run worse or at parity with the Xbox One version (PS4/Xbox One days) This happened with popular titles like Battlefield!

You're so eager to drop a rap sheet for Sony's supposedly horrible crimes, but they were all part of trends - trends that Microsoft was still, and is still, the worst expression of.

“This happened with popular titles like Battlefield”

What? Where are you getting that from - especially as bf4 ran at 720p on x1 and 900p on PS4?

Am I supposed to follow your lead now and accuse Sony of approaching Dice and “telling” them to make the game run better on ps4, or how does this fantasy make believe stuff I’m reading on these boards work?

2 years ago

Gifford38

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#154 Edited By Gifford38

Member since 2020 • 7343 Posts

@Pedro said:

@gifford38 said:

@Pedro: evidence cameout of Phil's mouth. He said Microsoft was going to drop Xbox because it was losing money until Phil went in and begged them to give it to him. They lost so much money sense the original Xbox. Got to admit Phil did save the Xbox. But Xbox one was there last console phil said.

Please share the link to your claim.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/11/spencer-microsoft-almost-abandoned-xbox-brand-after-the-xbox-one-launch/

just google it.

2 years ago

Pedro

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#156 Pedro

Member since 2002 • 70540 Posts

@gifford38 said:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/11/spencer-microsoft-almost-abandoned-xbox-brand-after-the-xbox-one-launch/

just google it.

"He said Microsoft was going to drop Xbox because it was losing money until Phil went in and begged them to give it to him. They lost so much money sense the original Xbox."

Please point to the sections in which the above statement is true. That means show me where Microsoft was going to drop Xbox because it was losing money and Phil begging to give it to him.

2 years ago

Gifford38

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#157 Gifford38

Member since 2020 • 7343 Posts

@Pedro: he said in a interview. He cameout of his mouth that the Xbox one was Microsoft last console. Phil saved Xbox.

2 years ago

Pedro

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#158 Pedro

Member since 2002 • 70540 Posts

@gifford38: Then provide said interview

2 years ago

shellcase86

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#159 shellcase86

Member since 2012 • 6857 Posts

@boiled-hotdug said:

@shellcase86 said:

@boiled-hotdug said:

I don't see how this will be bad for the employees and/or for the gamers...unless you're a fanboy

Do you think it's better for consumers when they only have the choice of one or two utility or internet service providers? Most don't.

No, but Blizzard-Activision was failing...and failing hard; at this point who else would be better in purchasing Blizzard-Activision? Microsoft certainly the better choice over companies like Tencent or Google. I mean Facebook & EA both were interested in purchasing Blizzard-Activision. Sure as hell wouldn't want that 😂

Got to agree I'm cool with MS over Facebook or EA aquring them any day. Had no clue they were on the verge of bankruptcy, though.

2 years ago

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