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Raven's New 'Organizational Change' Conveniently Breaks Up Union Members
25.1.2022
It was only a few days ago that 34 quality assurance testers at Raven, one of the studios working exclusively on the Call Of Duty series, formed the first ever union among Activision Blizzard employees. Today, management has responded to their success with some changes.Read more
Saudi-Backed Company Buys ESL For $1 Billion
24.1.2022
It’s being reported by multiple outlets that ESL, one of the world’s oldest and biggest esports companies, has been bought for $1 billion by Savvy Gaming, an esports investment company that is backed by the Saudi Arabian Government’s wealthy and controversial Public Investment Fund.Read more
Call Of Duty QA Testers Form Activision Blizzard’s First Union
21.1.2022
Thirty-four quality assurance testers at Raven Software, the Activision Blizzard studio in charge of its massively popular battle royale, Call of Duty: Warzone, announced today that they are unionizing after weeks of striking over recently announced layoffs in their department. Calling themselves...
Raven QA Testers Form Activision Blizzard’s First Union
21.1.2022
Thirty four quality assurance testers at Raven Softwarew, the Activision Blizzard studio in charge of its massively popular battle royale, Call of Duty: Warzone, announced today they are unionizing after weeks of striking over recently announced layoffs in their department. Calling themselves...
Blizzard Outlines Plans To Improve After 'Challenging' 2021
21.1.2022
Blizzard’s 2021 was a year marked by lowlights, with the company beset by allegations of a toxic workplace and rocked by the departures (and firings) of several key personnel. Now, with a new year and likely new ownership as well, president Mike Ybarra has outlined Blizzard’s plan to “rebuild your...
Xbox Boss Shrugs Off Union Question As Activision Blizzard Employees Push For Better Working Conditions
20.1.2022
Upheaval at Activision Blizzard last year over workplace misconduct sparked an unprecedented level of labor organizing at the Call of Duty publisher. Those actions recently culminated in an ongoing strike and the distribution of union cards, while the misconduct reckoning that precipitated them...
Report: Bobby Kotick Meeting Leaves Activision Blizzard Staffers Unimpressed, Worried
20.1.2022
This morning, Bobby Kotick held an all-hands meeting with Activision Blizzard employees to address Microsoft’s acquisition of the company for $68.7 billion dollars. He stated that Microsoft would be trying to “retain as many of our people as possible,” and that he planned to stay on as the CEO...
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 Wiz Completes Each Level In One Enormous Combo
20.1.2022
Just speedrunning a game is hard enough. So it’s wild that for his first speedrun, engineer and web developer Steve Wozniak decided to make the already-difficult task of finishing a game as quickly as possible even harder. The task he set for himself: Don’t just complete all the goals in Vicarious...
Sony And Microsoft's Comments On Call Of Duty Exclusivity Are Clear As Mud
20.1.2022
Here we go again. Will Activision Blizzard games be exclusive to Xbox after the recently announced $68.7 billion deal finally goes through? Probably. But in the meantime both sides are saying just enough to keep all possibilities open, with Sony being the latest to add its vague comments to...
Microsoft Reveals Activision Purchase for $68.7 Billion as an Approach to the Metaverse
20.1.2022
Microsoft, the software behemoth, announced today it had completed a deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest game developers and publishers in the gaming world. The deal, which involves an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, will give Microsoft ownership of important...
Official FAQ For The Microsoft x Activision Blizzard Deal Tries And Fails To Answer Some Questions
20.1.2022
As part of Microsoft’s proposed $70 billion purchase, an official FAQ of sorts has been sent to all Activision Blizzard employees. Sadly not many questions are actually answered, with responses looking more like huge black holes in the shape of things that could be answers. One day. Maybe.Read more
Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Purchase Isn’t Great, But Isn’t An Illegal Monopoly Either
19.1.2022
Yesterday’s announcement of Microsoft’s plan to purchase Activision Blizzard King for nearly $70 billion immediately sparked discussions about antitrust laws and monopolies, financial terms that pop up whenever a high-profile company purchases another high-profile company. While the merging...
Japanese Internet Reacts To Microsoft's $70 Billion Proposal To Buy Activision
19.1.2022
The biggest news this week—probably this year—is Microsoft’s proposed $70 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard. Online, people have opinions about this massive event and its ramifications, and in that regard, Japan is no different. The way Microsoft’s flagship console is viewed by many...
The Real Reasons Activision Blizzard Was Sold, Without Bobby Kotick's PR Spin
19.1.2022
As you probably already heard, Microsoft is looking to purchase Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion. But why Activision CEO Bobby Kotick suddenly decided to give up control of the company and where that leaves the beleaguered executive after the ink dries changes depending on who...
Microsoft's massive Metaverse move: Buying Activision for $69B
19.1.2022
Following the Activision Blizzard acquisition announcement, Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella stated that gaming “will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.”
This Was Inevitable
19.1.2022
Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard has been momentous news today, as much for the scale of the deal as its shock value. But we shouldn’t be too surprised. This was inevitable. A handful of companies have always wanted to own everything, and nothing is going to stop them.Read more
Xbox Game Pass Kicks 2022 Off With Two 2021 GotY Contenders
18.1.2022
The big news out of Microsoft today is, obviously, its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for the nominal fee of, oh, a small country’s GDP. The immediate impact here means major Activision-published behemoths like Call of Duty and Overwatch will become first-party games under Microsoft’s...
Microsoft Is Bringing Activision Blizzard Games To Game Pass
18.1.2022
Alongside news that Microsoft is preparing to acquire Activision Blizzard for $70 billion, the Xbox console maker has confirmed that games from the recently troubled Call of Duty and Warcraft publisher will make their way to Xbox Game Pass.Read more
PlayStation’s Best-Selling Series Of 2021 Could Become Xbox-Exclusive
18.1.2022
The NPD Group released its annual tally of gaming sales for 2021 today, pretty much at the very second Microsoft announced it would buy mega-publisher Activision Blizzard for approximately the GDP of Luxembourg. The top-selling console game for 2021 was the same as it is as it is nearly every year:...
Head Of Microsoft Says He’s ‘Grateful’ For Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick's 'Commitment to Real Change'
18.1.2022
Microsoft revealed a bombshell today: it’s buying embattled Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard in the largest gaming industry acquisition ever. That means a lot of things, including that the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, will soon be veteran CEO Bobby Kotick’s new boss. But what that means...