Microsoft's announcement of a $68.7 billion cash acquisition of Activision Blizzard has reportedly attracted a lot of attention in the gaming world, and gamers have said that they have long been dissatisfied with Activision Blizzard and hope that Microsoft can become a savior.
When Drew Bienusa started playing Call of Duty, a first-person shooter released by Activision Blizzard, he was immediately mesmerized, and he loved the immersive feeling of having a digital avatar. At the same time, the game is also a favorite of his friends.
Binusa was so fascinated by Call of Duty that in 2016 she began streaming her own games on the Twitch platform. He named his game character "Frozone" and has amassed 114,000 Twitch followers. In January, he became a pro for call of duty for the esports team XSET Team.
In fact, Binusa's feelings about Call of Duty had changed. He said the game's bugs hadn't been fixed for months. Moreover, activision Blizzard's communication with professional players was also interrupted. More recent sexual harassment lawsuits against the company have exposed Activision Blizzard's toxic workplace culture, which has also annoyed Binusa.
So on Tuesday, local time, when 26-year-old Binusa woke up to learn that Microsoft planned to spend nearly $70 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, he was ecstatic. "New vision, new people, new owners, new management, this is a step in the right direction," he said. At present, Activision Blizzard has reached a point where it cannot be worse. ”
Many gamers have expressed cautious optimism about the largest deal the gaming market has ever seen, and Binusa is one of them. If approved by regulators, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard would help Microsoft build a range of popular games, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Wolf of The Ancients, and Overwatch. At the same time, Microsoft also positioned the transaction as "to provide a cornerstone for the 'meta-universe' business."
Ultimately, however, the success of the deal will depend on how receptive the gamers are. Historically, many players have worried that acquisitions could affect the quality of online games. For example, when Microsoft acquired the developer of Minecraft in 2014, some gamers were concerned.
This time, the reaction was stronger, in part because Activision Blizzard, which has more than 400 million players worldwide, seems to have suffered a lot of setbacks among core users in recent years. In interviews, gamers said they see Microsoft as a potential savior for Activision Blizzard.
In an email sent to employees, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said the deal was intended to continue to strengthen Activision Blizzard's gaming and corporate culture.
Gamers are already dissatisfied
Over the past few years, Activision Blizzard's approval rating among gamers has declined. Many say they have been unhappy with Activision Blizzard for some time. They worry that Activision Blizzard is putting too much pressure on some of its game studios to offer more popular games instead of giving developers time to build iconic games. Last year, Activision Blizzard was also embroiled in a "sexual harassment" lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing Development (DFEH), raising questions about its behavior.
In addition, based on history, the performance of some Activision Blizzard games is also uneven. Last November, Activision Blizzard delayed the launch of new versions of Diablo and Overwatch. The new Call of Duty 18: Vanguard has been widely criticized as boring and full of glitches.
Industry insider Parris Lilly believes that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard will not only help Microsoft's video game subscription service Xbox Game Pass, but also give Activision Blizzard developers a breather. "Microsoft's acquisition may give Activision Blizzard's developers a break for a while," Lelai said. This way, they can improve the game over time instead of updating it so frequently. ”
Lele also added that the acquisition could be an opportunity to address Activision Blizzard's workplace issues under Kotic. According to Microsoft's statement, After the deal is completed, Kotic will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, reporting to Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft's gaming business.
But in an interview, Kotic declined to say whether he would continue as CEO. Some people familiar with the matter believe that Kotic may resign as CEO and take on an advisory role. Several gamers said the deal also has the potential to transform esports leagues that focus on Activision Blizzard games. Under the management of Activision Blizzard, the game's events have withered. Microsoft's Halo, by contrast, works well.
Many gamers also said they were indifferent to Microsoft's use of the deal as a way to strengthen its foothold in the "metaverse." They say the "metaverse" still seems like a distant idea, and the deal has the potential to immediately improve Activision Blizzard's gaming and workplaces.
Binusa said, "Honestly, I don't really know much about things like the 'metaverse.' ”
World of Warcraft is tiresome
Chris Nobriga, 28, of San Jose, Calif., said he has spent more than 11,000 hours on World of Warcraft over the past decade.
Although Nobriga has been playing, his view of the game has changed as some popular developers have left Activision Blizzard to re-use the in-game system with Activision Blizzard. Nobriga said: "Activision Blizzard failed. Even if Kotick or sexual harassment aside and just talk about pure games, World of Warcraft is already tiresome. ”
He said that while he and other gamers are skeptical of the deal, they are also hopeful about the possible impact, hoping that Microsoft will bring something different. Nobriga said: "Microsoft has the potential to revive Activision Blizzard and re-evaluate the company's operational objectives. ”
Jared Neelley, also a 28-year-old gamer, experienced the adverse effects of microsoft game-related deals. In September 2016, a month after Microsoft acquired streaming service Mixer, he joined streaming service Mixer to broadcast Call of Duty 12: Black Ops 3.
At first, he said, it felt like "someone is coming to save you." But Microsoft shut down Mixer in 2020, when Neely had become the fourth most talked-about anchor on the platform, with 440,000 followers. His game character is called "JaredFPS" and is now streaming Call of Duty: Warzone on Twitch with 63,000 followers.
Even so, he said, he holds out hope for Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard because he feels Microsoft knows how to succeed in gaming. "In the short term, no one will see anything different because Microsoft executives need time to make changes," Neely said. But in the long run, I think it's the best for the company and the community. ”