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A Scrapped Overwatch Netflix Show, A Proposed Call Of Duty RTS, And Four More Details From An Upcoming Book On Blizzard
30.9.2024
Activision Blizzard has been the subject of immense attention and scrutiny over the past three years, ever since the company was sued over an alleged culture of workplace harassment in 2021. This was followed by a $69 billion acquisition by Microsoft and over 2000 layoffs at the company. With...
EA College Football 25 Used AI To Make All 11,000 Players' Faces
31.7.2024
Last year, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said AI would help the publisher unlock the “holy grail” of game development. Now he’s confirmed the company has already used it to make its latest sports blockbuster, EA College Football 25. Read more
It's Time To Stop Giving Xbox Boss Phil Spencer A Pass
7.5.2024
On May 7, Xbox announced that it was closing four studios: Arkane Austin (Redfall), Tango Gameworks (Hi-Fi Rush), Alpha Dog Games (Mighty Doom), and support studio Roundhouse Games. The news is yet another example of Xbox—which has spent billions buying up studios—cutting costs, laying people...
Former Activision Boss Bobby Kotick Wants To Buy Tiktok: Report
11.3.2024
TikTok is in an exceptionally tough spot these days. Despite everyone you know using it for hours on end, the video-sharing app is currently facing legislation that would force its ban in the U.S pending a potential sale, and prospective buyers are lining up. Regrettably, one of these buyers...
Legendary Industry Veterans Get Candid On Ageism In Gaming
2.2.2024
Video game publisher Activision Blizzard has been embroiled in controversy within the last few years, from allegations that a culture of sexual harassment was allowed to thrive to reports of union-busting by management. But in January 2024, when a new lawsuit was filed against the Call of Duty...
Overwatch 2 Esports Is So Back, Baby
23.1.2024
The Overwatch League, the Overwatch 2 esports league that (somewhat ill-advisedly) adopted an NFL-like franchise model, died last year. The brainchild of former Blizzard president Bobby Kotick, it failed to flourish thanks to expensive buy-ins, the covid pandemic kneecapping in-person events,...
Former ActiBlizz Employees Weigh In On Bobby Kotick’s Legacy
2.1.2024
2024 is starting off strong: The controversial Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard King, is no longer heading up the Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch 2 publisher. We knew this was going to happen—shortly after Microsoft completed its massive $68 billion purchase...
Overwatch 2 Left A Trail Of Broken Promises In 2023
21.12.2023
Overwatch 2 debuted in late 2022, and the controversial sequel to Blizzard’s beloved hero shooter struggled in its first few months. Messaging around it was confusing (we were meant to get a sequel that shared a multiplayer environment with the original game, instead the original game was shut...
Konec jedné éry, neoblíbený Bobby Kotick po 32 letech opouští Activision
21.12.2023
Jeden z nejméně oblíbených manažerů v herním průmyslu opouští svojí funkci. Po více než třech dekádách strávených ve vedení společnosti Activision končí její ředitel Bobby Kotick
The Biggest Gaming Disappointments Of 2023
20.12.2023
Good job folks, that’s another year down. This year, like so many recent years, was a mess as we continued to deal with the ongoing effects of the pandemic while governments and businesses around the world pretended everything is better now. And now, I can’t even complain about it on Twitter...
Bobby Kotick’s Goodbye Letter Calls Xbox ‘The World’s Most Admired Company’
20.12.2023
We knew that Activision Blizzard’s longtime CEO, Bobby Kotick, would be stepping down at the end of this year following Microsoft’s historic acquisition of his company—but we didn’t know that he’d officially leave on the last workday of 2023, technically two days before the end of the year. This...
Activision Sure Knows How To Bury A Story On A Friday Night
16.12.2023
Activision Blizzard has been the subject of scrutiny for several years now, due to its widely criticized “Boys’ Club” corporate culture of sleazy shenanigans. And now, late on a Friday evening just before the holiday season begins in earnest, The Wall Street Journal reports the embattled gaming...
FTC Is Still Trying To Block The Xbox And Activision Merger
7.12.2023
Just when we thought Microsoft’s Activision acquisition was finally set in stone two months ago, it looks like the Federal Trade Commission has made another appeal to block Master Chief and John Call of Duty’s marriage.Read more
That's The End Of Activision Blizzard's $120 Million Overwatch League
8.11.2023
Activision Blizzard has confirmed the end of the Overwatch League, its massive bet to cash in on the rise of esports with an NFL-style franchise system. It will reportedly pay the 20 teams involved $120 million as everyone quietly parts ways from what was reportedly a financial debacle—despite...
The Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Franchise, Explained
6.11.2023
The Call of Duty franchise has continually set sales records and delivered rock-solid multiplayer experiences, almost single handedly carrying the first-person shooter genre into the modern era. It remains a crucial pillar in the gaming industry, so much so that Sony and Microsoft were fighting...
Microsoft And Activision Just Revealed Their Biggest Weakness
13.10.2023
If you haven’t heard the news already, Xbox finally closed its Activision Blizzard acquisition deal to the tune of $69 billion. With this move, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is getting ousted at the beginning of the year, all while getting a golden parachute of $400 million. Well, at least the silver...
Microsoft Asks Controversial Activision CEO Bobby Kotick To Stay For Two More Months
13.10.2023
Longtime Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, is almost gone, but not quite yet. Nearly two years after over 1,000 of his employees called on the controversial executive to resign, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that Kotick will remain the head of the Call of Duty publisher until...
Microsoft Closes Activision Blizzard Acquisition, Making Call Of Duty Officially Part Of Xbox Now
13.10.2023
The video game industry just got a lot smaller. The long and winding saga of Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard has finally come to a close with the companies announcing the completed merger today following one last greenlight from regulators in the UK. Call of Duty is now part...
The Overwatch League Grand Finals Were Both Beautiful And Depressing
2.10.2023
On Sunday, October 1, the Florida Mayhem defeated the Houston Outlaws in the 2023 Overwatch League Grand Finals in Toronto, Canada. It was the team’s very first championship, and it could very well be their last—as well as the last championship awarded in the once massively popular esports league...
Hold Onto Your Butts, Microsoft's Massive Activision Blizzard Deal Is Finally Happening
22.9.2023
Twenty months after it was first announced, Microsoft’s unprecedented deal to buy Call of Duty and Candy Crush publisher Activision Blizzard for $69 billion appears to have beaten its final boss. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority revealed on Friday that it has provisionally approved...