Microsoft Blizzard purchase getting approved by the EU

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

They will get their day in court, next month as that lawsuit is still moving forward, but at that point there will be no way to un-make the omelet (so to speak). The purchase will be completed and for intents and purposes Blizzard will be no more (as a stand alone company). The judge already said the FTC is highly unlikely to prevail in that court case anyways.

Lina Khan is already getting grilled by congress for her losing streak. All she's done as chairwoman of the FTC is turn the bureau into a joke. She's wasted taxpayer money on yolo cases on Big Tech despite the legal team telling her "no don't do that we do not have enough evidence to build a strong case" but she does it anyway. And all her cases are doing is forming case law that makes Big Tech stronger. She has to go.

On the bright side, with Microsoft owning Blizzard, it means the death of the horrible BattleNet launcher and Blizzard games finally on Steam.

 

[diamond.g]

Lina Khan is already getting grilled by congress for her losing streak. All she's done as chairwoman of the FTC is turn the bureau into a joke. She's wasted taxpayer money on yolo cases on Big Tech despite the legal team telling her "no don't do that we do not have enough evidence to build a strong case" but she does it anyway. And all her cases are doing is forming case law that makes Big Tech stronger. She has to go.

On the bright side, with Microsoft owning Blizzard, it means the death of the horrible BattleNet launcher and Blizzard games finally on Steam.

You think they will drop BattlEye?

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

You think they will drop BattlEye?

Not BattlEye. BattleNet. BattlEye is the anti-cheat, BattleNet is Blizzard's multiplayer framework and DRM riddled crap launcher.

And yes I do. The Bethesda launcher was killed when Microsoft bought them and everything moved to Steam and the Microsoft Store. BattleNet is most certainly gonna be on the chopping block as well. (The launcher I mean. The multiplayer framework will most likely stay.) All of Activision's games aside from Black Ops 4 and Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered have already moved to Steam, so Blizzard games will most likely be next.

And with Blizzard games on Steam, means Blizzard games on Steam Deck.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Not BattlEye. BattleNet. BattlEye is the anti-cheat, BattleNet is Blizzard's multiplayer framework and DRM riddled crap launcher.

And yes I do. The Bethesda launcher was killed when Microsoft bought them and everything moved to Steam and the Microsoft Store. BattleNet is most certainly gonna be on the chopping block as well. (The launcher I mean. The multiplayer framework will most likely stay.) All of Activision's games aside from Black Ops 4 and Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered have already moved to Steam, so Blizzard games will most likely be next.

And with Blizzard games on Steam, means Blizzard games on Steam Deck.

You can already run Blizzard games on Steam Deck using Lutris.

 

[diamond.g]

Not BattlEye. BattleNet. BattlEye is the anti-cheat, BattleNet is Blizzard's multiplayer framework and DRM riddled crap launcher.

And yes I do. The Bethesda launcher was killed when Microsoft bought them and everything moved to Steam and the Microsoft Store. BattleNet is most certainly gonna be on the chopping block as well. (The launcher I mean. The multiplayer framework will most likely stay.) All of Activision's games aside from Black Ops 4 and Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered have already moved to Steam, so Blizzard games will most likely be next.

And with Blizzard games on Steam, means Blizzard games on Steam Deck.

I know the difference, I was wondering if they are going to go to Steam if they would bother still using their own anti-cheat.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

You can already run Blizzard games on Steam Deck using Lutris.

Yes however it's not as intuitive as just launching through Steam, especially since a lot of people won't go into Desktop mode and go through the setup process of it. Most people buying Steam Decks wanna treat it as a simple launch and go console. The most accessible gaming PC on the market, running Linux no less.

 

[AHDuke99]

I wish Blizzard would go back to supporting Mac games again. The one thing holding me back from upgrading my 2019 16" Intel MBP is the fact I wouldn't be able to occasionally play SC2/HOTS/Diablo III when I felt like it.

It's pretty clear as of right now, Blizzard has no intention of patching any of those games to run natively on Apple silicon.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I wish Blizzard would go back to supporting Mac games again. The one thing holding me back from upgrading my 2019 16" Intel MBP is the fact I wouldn't be able to occasionally play SC2/HOTS/Diablo III when I felt like it.

It's pretty clear as of right now, Blizzard has no intention of patching any of those games to run natively on Apple silicon.

At this point you may as well just get a gaming PC because now that Microsoft is about to own them the possibility of future Mac games from Blizzard is pretty much gone.

Fortunately if Blizzard games arrive on Steam you can just use a Steam Deck.

 

[maflynn]

Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition May Not Have A Resolution By Tuesday After All

Today is the merger deadline and if they fail to meet it, there is a 2 billion dollar break up fee that Blizzard would get. Its quite possible and probable that an extension could be negotiated between Blizzard and MSFT but if Blizzard is getting cold feet, they could walk away 2 billion dollars in their pocket.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition May Not Have A Resolution By Tuesday After All

Today is the merger deadline and if they fail to meet it, there is a 2 billion dollar break up fee that Blizzard would get. Its quite possible and probable that an extension could be negotiated between Blizzard and MSFT but if Blizzard is getting cold feet, they could walk away 2 billion dollars in their pocket.

They're not gonna break up if they fail to meet it. It just gets extended. They're not gonna walk away when they just kicked the FTC's ass in court. The deal is all but closed at this point. It's not if, but when.

 

[maflynn]

They're not gonna break up

You missed my point completely

1. There is no business merger yet, so there's nothing to break up.
2. I'm stating a fact - If MS failed to complete the merger they are on the hook for 2 billion dollars. That doesn't mean it will happen, but they were rushing to avoid that deadline and they failed.

The deal is all but closed at this point

No its not, they're two seperate companies and MS has zero say into Blizzard affairs. Its like buying a house, and something came up with the inspection. It may be resolved but that doesn't mean the buyer can start moving his furniture into the house because its "all but closed at this point"

In all likelihood MS and Blizzard will meet and discus terms to extend the deadline and I wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard expects some level of compensation in return to extending the deadline.

 

[salamanderjuice]

You missed my point completely

1. There is no business merger yet, so there's nothing to break up.
2. I'm stating a fact - If MS failed to complete the merger they are on the hook for 2 billion dollars. That doesn't mean it will happen, but they were rushing to avoid that deadline and they failed.


No its not, they're two seperate companies and MS has zero say into Blizzard affairs. Its like buying a house, and something came up with the inspection. It may be resolved but that doesn't mean the buyer can start moving his furniture into the house because its "all but closed at this point"

In all likelihood MS and Blizzard will meet and discus terms to extend the deadline and I wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard expects some level of compensation in return to extending the deadline.

It's $3 billion. Bloomberg has reported they aren't walking away and extending the deadline so they can avoid problems with the UK regulator rather than rush it.

Microsoft-Activision Deal Poised to Close Later Than Planned

Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard Inc. are nearing the finish line on their $69 billion deal, but aren’t likely to close it by a Tuesday deadline, people familiar with the deal said.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[maflynn]

It's $3 billion. Bloomberg has reported they aren't walking away

3 billion - thanks for the correction.

 

[AHDuke99]

At this point you may as well just get a gaming PC because now that Microsoft is about to own them the possibility of future Mac games from Blizzard is pretty much gone.

Fortunately if Blizzard games arrive on Steam you can just use a Steam Deck.

Blizzard showed no interest in updating Mac games even before the acquisition, so nothing will really change. They updated Warcraft pretty quickly so converting the older games to Apple silicon must not be difficult, but I also know Warcraft is a money maker for Blizzard on the Mac whereas those other games are not.

Diablo 4 is PC only. I'm sure if Starcraft III is a real thing it will be PC only too/Microsoft acquisition or not.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Blizzard showed no interest in updating Mac games even before the acquisition, so nothing will really change. They updated Warcraft pretty quickly so converting the older games to Apple silicon must not be difficult, but I also know Warcraft is a money maker for Blizzard on the Mac whereas those other games are not.

Diablo 4 is PC only. I'm sure if Starcraft III is a real thing it will be PC only too/Microsoft acquisition or not.

Well at least you got the Wine layer in the Game Porting Toolkit now.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Deadline has officially been pushed back to Oct. 18th and the penalty increased to 3.5 billion.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/19/tech/microsoft-activision-deal-deadline-extension/index.html

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Deadline has officially been pushed back to Oct. 18th and the penalty increased to 3.5 billion.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/19/tech/microsoft-activision-deal-deadline-extension/index.html

That penalty increase is being pointless since it's clear they're ready to close, they're just at the negotiation table with the CMA right now.

 

[maflynn]

Deadline has officially been pushed back to Oct. 18th and the penalty increased to 3.5 billion.

That's really a minor uptick, all things being equal, but the extension comes as no surprise. What is surprising is how far down the road they set the next deadline.

they're just at the negotiation table with the CMA right now.

They also have the FTC antitrust court case in August. There's an evidentiary hearing at the FTC headquarters on 08/02. While the odds have improved for MS to be sure, its not a slam dunk at this point.

Microsoft/Activision Blizzard, In the Matter of

 

[diamond.g]

In other tangentially related news... Blizzard game(s) are coming to Steam next month...

Overwatch 2 coming to Steam on August 10!

The Overwatch 2 Steam page is live now and is available to wishlist.

news.blizzard.com

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

In other tangentially related news... Blizzard game(s) are coming to Steam next month...

Overwatch 2 coming to Steam on August 10!

The Overwatch 2 Steam page is live now and is available to wishlist.

news.blizzard.com

And this right here is exactly why I've been for the merger. Ding dong the witch is dead. Finally, the dead of the god awful BattleNet launcher is upon us

No more awful Bnet DRM

No more lackluster achievements

No more awful friend systems

No more barebones chat system

I FINALLY GOT PROPER CONTROLLER SUPPORT

And with Blizzard games moving to Steam, means easy Linux compatibility, which in turn means Blizzard games on Steam Deck.

 

[Marshall73]

And this right here is exactly why I've been for the merger. Ding dong the witch is dead. Finally, the dead of the god awful BattleNet launcher is upon us

No more awful Bnet DRM

No more lackluster achievements

No more awful friend systems

No more barebones chat system

I FINALLY GOT PROPER CONTROLLER SUPPORT

And with Blizzard games moving to Steam, means easy Linux compatibility, which in turn means Blizzard games on Steam Deck.

I already play Diablo 4 on my steam deck, super easy to do. I bought a Rog Ally but returned it after 2 weeks, too many little issues, plus windows 11. Had upgraded it to 1TB ssd which now resides in my steam deck. Spent time rebuilding my deck and loading games and emulators on it. I have to thank ASUS for the Rog Ally as it has totally rekindled my interest in the deck.

 

[Zest28]

All these court cases to protect Sony, who is the dominant market player, just shows how rigged the system is in the end.

They should be out there looking out for the customer, not Sony their interests.

 

[diamond.g]

All these court cases to protect Sony, who is the dominant market player, just shows how rigged the system is in the end.

They should be out there looking out for the customer, not Sony their interests.

You don't think it is useful for there to be more independent third party publishers/developers in the industry?

 

[Zest28]

You don't think it is useful for there to be more independent third party publishers/developers in the industry?

Sony doesn't even care about that, Sony has openly admitted they don't even care about Call of Duty. They are simply complaining to the regulators to annoy Microsoft.

Why do you think it's a bad idea for gaming studios to have their financial future secured and receiving the financial backing they need to make AAA games?

The big gaming studios that are doing well, such as Rockstar Games, they will remain to be "independent".

 

[diamond.g]

Sony doesn't even care about that, Sony has openly admitted they don't even care about Call of Duty. They are simply complaining to the regulators to annoy Microsoft.

Why do you think it's a bad idea for gaming studios to have their financial future secured and receiving the financial backing they need to make AAA games?

The big gaming studios that are doing well, such as Rockstar Games, they will remain to be "independent".

I don't think Activision Blizzard was in financial straights. Yes they have an upper management problem, and Microsoft buying the company is just giving those bad actors a "golden parachute" of money to go away (IMO).

I don't think Sony is an innocent corporation in all of this, though I do think that Sony has more to lose if consoles go away than Microsoft does (consoles going away isn't going to hurt MS bottom line all that much).