On January 18th, 2022, Microsoft announced that they were acquiring Activision Blizzard in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, or $95 per share.
However, in the year and change since this announcement, things have not gone as planned for Microsoft.
Today, we’re going to look at some recent developments for Microsoft games including the state of the Activision-Blizzard deal, the rough release of Redfall, and what the future looks like for Xbox.
Show Notes
[INTRO THEME]
[INTRODUCTIONS] (3-5 minutes)
Show introduction:
Insights Into Tomorrow Episode 19: The State of Microsoft Games
Host introductions
Host (Sam Whalen)
My co-host (Joseph Whalen)
[SUMMARY]
On January 18th, 2022, Microsoft announced that they were acquiring Activision Blizzard in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, or $95 per share.
However, in the year and change since this announcement, things have not gone as planned for Microsoft.
Today, we’re going to look at some recent developments for Microsoft games including the state of the Activision-Blizzard deal, the rough release of Redfall, and what the future looks like for Xbox.
Show Plugs
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[TRANSITION]
Segment 1- Update on the Activision-Blizzard-King Acquisition
https://gamerant.com/microsoft-activision-blizzard-acquisition-cma-blocked/?newsletter_popup=1
https://bit.ly/3IvT8qp
After months of deliberating, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), blocked Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, primarily citing the potential monopolization of cloud gaming services if the deal went through.
“Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice. That is best achieved by allowing the current competitive dynamics in cloud gaming to continue to do their job,” Martin Coleman, who chaired the panel that investigated the deal, said in a statement.
From Gamerant, “The CMA claims that if the acquisition goes through, it would only reinforce the Xbox maker’s strong position in cloud gaming, and it could potentially hold control of 60-70 percent of the cloud gaming market.”
This is a huge blow for Microsoft as their acquisition continues to face roadblock after roadblock from various international regulators.
The Federal Trade Commision is suing to block the deal in the US, citing concerns over Microsoft’s habit of acquiring game studios as part of the Microsoft gaming brand.
However, the EU has approved the deal despite the US and UK’s hesitation.
https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/4/27/23699227/microsoft-activision-blizzard-antitrust-nope
https://bit.ly/3MKMAq9
EU officials claim that the estimation of Xbox’s cloud gaming dominance is being overstated, with ALL Xbox games pass users being counted as cloud gaming users, despite that not being the primary purpose of the service.
If the deal goes through, would Xbox truly hold a monopoly? What does this mean for other gaming companies like Sony and Nintendo?
After the break, we’ll take a look at the launch of Redfall and other Games Pass exclusive, and how they impact Xbox’s place in the gaming landscape.
[SEGMENT 2: Redfall and other Games Pass Exclusives (10-15 minutes)
Redfall, from publisher Bethesda and developer Arkane Studios (Prey, Dishonored) released on May 2nd to disastrous critical and audience reviews.
The Xbox version of the game is currently sitting at a 56 on Metacritic, with a 3.5 User Score.
Critics cited extremely poor performance, uninteresting mechanics, and an overall rushed feeling to the production quality.
Redfall came out at a time when Microsoft has been sorely lacking in first party triple-A titles, with the last big release being Halo: Infinite in 2021.
Many have considered Infinite to be a failure as well, with little to no multiplayer support post-launch, and Microsoft cleaning house at 343 months after release.
Redfall was part of Xbox Games Pass, allowing GP users to access the title on day one. While GP is still an incredible value, Redfall itself was not the tentpole franchise Xbox was hoping it to be.
It’s worth noting that any game that comes out day one on games pass is already going to face tough sales numbers, as GP tends to cannibalize sales numbers in exchange for wider distribution of your title.
In just two weeks since its launch, Redfall has seen a drastic reduction in players according to Steam player count.
Take these numbers with a grain of salt since Steam numbers obviously don’t take into account Games Pass players, but it’s a comparable metric.
At its debut, Redfall was averaging around six thousand players. That figure has plummeted to around 200 players since May 16th.
Overall this has been an extremely bad look for Microsoft, who needs any and every triple A game to hit as games like God of War Ragnorak and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, dominate both critically and financially for Sony and Nintendo, respectively.
How can Microsoft reclaim its glory days of Halo and Gears of War in the exclusive market?
SEGMENT 3: The Future of Xbox in the Next Year
The next big release for Xbox is Bethesda’s Starfield. Set to release on September 6th, 2023, expectations are sky high for this title.
From the same studio that made the FallOut and Elder Scrolls, Starfield is set to be Bethesda’s deep into the Sci Fi genre.
The game was recently rated 17+ by the ESRB, with a potential ban coming in Australia for explicit drug use.
This is a funny note, due to the ratings process some of the in game dialogue for sex scenes has been released.
It appears sex will not be explicit in the game, although you will be able to say any of the following lines, after the act:
‘Life is a sexually transmitted disease that’s a hundred percent fatal.’
‘I’m all for getting a little wild, but next time let’s try it without the jetpacks.’
‘Talk about seeing stars, whew… that was amazing.’
On a more serious note, all of Microsoft’s eggs are in the Starfield basket. It is the first, and last, big release for the studio for the foreseeable future. If it goes the way of Redfall, it could be very bad for Microsoft.
Bethesda hasn’t exactly had a great track record with their last releases including Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, both of which weren’t nearly as well received as the golden age of Fallout New Vegas and Skyrim.
Starfield has been reported to be launching at 30fps, with a performance mode rumored to be coming later. Is this unacceptable in 2023, some would say yes. Given Bethesda’s history of performance problems maybe 30fps is the best option if it will be stable.
Is there any way Starfield can live up to the hype? What should Xbox’s next move be when it comes to exclusive releases? Why does Sam get so irrationally angry when 60fps isn’t an option at launch?
SEGMENT 4: Something Positive Maybe? Positive Xbox Memories? We could put this segment after final thoughts to end on a happy note.
Final Thoughts?
[OUTRO AND CREDITS]
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