Metacritic users voice their opinions on Diablo Immortal, ranking the title a dismal 0.5 out of 10.

Diablo Immortal is a mobile device centered free to play title, following the series’ RPG staples. It is also an online only MMO, reliant on microtransactions to progress at a decent pace, which is where a lot of backlash is aimed at.

As of the 8th June, the title on Metacritic sits at an incredibly low 0.5/10, with over 2,500 negative ratings, less than a week after release. Similarly, World of Warcraft Classic: Burning Crusade, releasing on the 1st June, sits at this score too with 350 negative ratings. The microtransactions are so prominent, that in an analysis by the YouTube channel Bellular News, the total cost to fully upgrade a character is £88,000.

Diablo Immortal joins the wide range of Blizzard games to have been released in the last 5 years, that have failed to reach an average score amongst fans, including Diablo II: Resurrected, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands and many updates to Hearthstone.

Factors outside of the game’s quality and structure may have affected their scores, such as the recent Activision Blizzard controversies and the game’s director Wyatt Cheng being seen in a disingenuous light, as he stated months prior to release: “In Diablo Immortal, there is no way to acquire or rank up gear using money” only for microtransactions regarding Legendary Gems, a pilar alongside XP level and regular gear for progression to arise. Although the gear itself can’t be purchased, the misinformation surrounding the system is enough for players to lose trust and faith in Activision Blizzard.

<3 thanks for asking.

I don't like it if information is misleading. There's a difference between players liking or not liking a game based on it's merits (which I can accept, not every game is for everybody) vs. liking or not liking a game based on misinformation surrounding it.

— Wyatt Cheng (@candlesan) June 4, 2022

As for critics regarding Blizzard games, the worst rated is Warcraft III: Reforged at 59, but it is one of only five games considered “Mediocre” or around the average rating, greatly contrasting player scores. Opposing the user score is the generally favorable 75/100 from 11 critics and Google Play has Diablo Immortal at 3.3/5, as a result of 431,000 reviews and a mix of casual and more seasoned players of the series.

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The post Diablo Immortal: One of Blizzard’s Worst Game According to Metacritic Users first appeared on Get2Gaming.

Overwatch Anniversary Remix event returns for round 2 introducing new styles, colours and fan favourite skins!

The first Overwatch 2 Beta test window has closed. The Beta that was available for several weeks allowed players to test run and try “Overwatch Hero Reworks” which brought new maps and game design elements into the fray. To keep momentum and interest in the game high, a new round in the Overwatch Anniversary Remix event is already well underway that will introduce new versions of some of Overwatch’s most memorable costumes and outfits.

The “Overwatch Anniversary Remix Vol. 2” event returns on [ May 17th – June 7th ] bringing with it brand new colour variations to 6 previously released skins while also bringing back remixed skins from “Overwatch Anniversary Remix Vol. 1” again. The new alternate outfits on offer include Black Wolf Hanzo ( Okami Legendary Skin ), Hydra Symmetra ( Dragon Symmetra Legendary Skin ), Neon Cat Sombra ( Black Cat Legendary Skin ), Night Owl Ana ( Snow Owl Legendary Skin ), Poison Dart Lucio ( Ribbit Lucio Legendary Skin ) and Noxious Roadhog ( Toxic Roadhog Legendary Skin ).

Previous Weekly Challenge Skins will make a welcome return like the Remix event, as well as remixed skins, previous seasonal event game modes from Winter Wonderland, Overwatch Archives, this year’s Chinese New Year “Year of the Tiger” celebrations, and other seasonal brawl and PvE modes like “Yeti Hunt” and “LucioBall” and more on daily rotation. Not just new events but new themed emotes and sprays will also make a welcome return if you have earned enough coins to obtain the reward.

Overwatch 2 is currently in development!!

Did you create havok in Overwatch Anniversary Remix Vol. 1, will you participate in Anniversary Remix Vol. 2? Create a ruckus in the comments below!

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Another lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard. Just days after it was revealed the Activision board told shareholders to block a public report on sexual misconduct, Activision are being sued again.

The lawsuit, made by New York City officials, targets the CEO Bobby Kotick specifically. As reported by Axios, the complaint alleges that by rushing the Microsoft takeover, Kotick sought to escape liability for misconduct at the company. You can read the full complaint here.

Lawsuit takes issue with Kotick’s involvement in the Microsoft takeover

The lawsuit was filed in Delaware on April 26th but was made public to Axios on May 3rd. The lawsuit was made by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and pension funds for the city’s teachers, police and firefighters. According to Axios, these groups are shareholders in Activision. They believe that Kotick’s actions have harmed the company and devalued the company’s value.

Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that the Kotick was aware for years of the misconduct and sexual harassment claims but that he withheld the information from the board. In November 2021, a Wall Street Journal article claimed that Bobby Kotick knew about multiple sexual misconduct claims made at the company. The article claimed that the Activision CEO was emailed in 2018 about a rape allegation but didn’t tell the board. It also stated that Kotick repeatedly blocked the firing of Treyarch co-head Dan Bunting. Dan Bunting, the co-head of the Call of Duty studio, was investigated for several sexual harassment claims by Activision’s HR department. Bunting has since stepped down.

Lawsuit alleges that board wasn’t involved

It was then revealed in February this year that just days after this WSJ article, that Microsoft began acquisition talks with Activision. On November 19th, three days after the article, Phil Spencer – Microsoft Gaming CEO – and Bobby Kotick began talking about an acquisition. It was believed to be an opportunistic move, with Activision’s stock having fallen 11%.

The New York lawsuit takes issue with Kotick’s involvement in the acquisition talks. The officials state that: “Given Kotick’s personal responsibility and liability for Activision’s broken workplace, it should have been clear to the Board that he was unfit to negotiate a sale of the Company. But it wasn’t.”

However, the lawsuit also alleges that Kotick was negotiating with Microsoft without the board’s authorisation. It claims that although Kotick and Microsoft began talking on the 19th, the board did not discuss Microsoft’s interest until a meeting two weeks later on December 1st. During those two weeks, the lawsuit claims, “Kotick blithely informed Microsoft that he would be willing to accept an offer in the range of $90-$105 per share.” The acquisition then went on to be priced at $95 per share, with Microsoft purchasing Activision for $68.7 billion.

The lawsuit goes on to say: “Not only did the Merger offer Kotick and his fellow directors a means to escape liability for their egregious breaches of fiduciary duty, but it also offered Kotick the chance to realize substantial nonratable benefits. As detailed in the Subsequent 220 Demand, these included significant bonuses that Kotick could receive for simply ensuring that Activision complied with the law.” Essentially, the lawsuit claims that by rushing to finalise the takeover, Kotick hoped to escape liability for the misconduct as well as receive bonuses for the takeover.

The latest of many lawsuits

This New York lawsuit is one of a number of cases filed against Activision within the last year. Activision are currently facing the California lawsuit that alleges there is a “frat boy” work-culture at Activision Blizzard that promotes sexual harassment and discrimination. That case was filed in June 2021, before the WSJ article was published. Activision also faced a lawsuit filed by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September 2021, although that was settled on the same day for $18 million. According to Axios, Activision have also had 10 other cases filed against them, as well as SEC and Department of Justice investigations.

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Warning: This article contains references to sexual harassment, rape and suicide. 

Activision Blizzard have told their shareholders to vote against a proposal for a harassment and discrimination report. In a document outlining the annual shareholder’s meeting, Activision Blizzard announced that the “board unanimously recommends” voting against the report. The report was proposed in February this year and the annual meeting is scheduled to take place June 21. The document can be read here.

Activision’s argument against the public report is that it would “divert” attention and resources away from actively dealing with helping employees. They believe that “yet another report” would not be the best way forward and take too long. They instead think that responding to employee concerns directly is the quickest way to make change.

In addition, Activision argue that the public report would use a set of metrics that are “simply not the best measure” of how the company is dealing with these concerns of harassment and discrimination. The company argues that it would not present a “complete or meaningful picture” of the situation. The board members instead believe that their ongoing investigation should be kept internal.

However, Activision also argue that the report is based on the lawsuit filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DEFH). Activision are currently fighting the lawsuit that accuses the company of a workplace rife with sexual harassment and discrimination. In the document recommending voting against the report, Activision called the liability claims “inaccurate” and “substantially overstated”. The board argue that it is based on “false assumptions”, guesses and “multiple mathematical errors”.

It would seem, then, that Activision’s board worries that by agreeing to the report, proposed by New York, they would be giving credence to California’s lawsuit.

The California Lawsuit

The lawsuit by California’s DEFH was filed in July 2021. The lawsuit alleges that the company has fostered a “frat boy” culture that is a “breeding ground” for sexual harassment and discrimination against women. It alleges that the male employees would take part in “cube crawls”, in which they would get drunk and walk through the cubicles, harassing their female colleagues. The lawsuit claims the male employees would grope the female employees, make unwanted advances or comments and joke with each other about rape.

The lawsuit also alleges that a women committed suicide while on a business trip with her male supervisor. The complaint alleges that the employee had been a victim of sexual harassment. The complaint document can be read here.

In addition to the sexual harassment, the lawsuit alleges that women are treated unfairly at Activision. The complaint states that females make up around 20% of the workforce at Activision Blizzard. According to the DEFH, the female employees are paid less than their male counterparts and are not promoted to positions of authority, or do not face the same opportunities. According to the lawsuit, one woman was told they could not promote her as she “might get pregnant and like being a mum too much.”

Besides the DEFH, another lawsuit was filed against Activision in September 2021. This lawsuit was filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It was settled out of court the same day it was filed, with Activision paying a settlement of $18 million.

Pressure on Activision

With the ongoing lawsuit, there is growing pressure on Activision. After the lawsuit was filed, more than 2,000 current and former employees came out in support of the lawsuit. There have also been reports of union busting at Activision, with the company hiring law firm WilmerHale. The law firm is famous for stopping Amazon’s workers from unionising.

In response to the criticisms regarding the lack of female employees, Activision has hired Kristen Hines as its new Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Activision announced in October 2021 that they will increase women and non-binary representation by 50% within the next five years.

In addition, they have added more women to their board. However, Activision also stated that adding another woman to their board of directors was required by California law and that they weren’t able to do so in 2021. They stated that the acquisition by Microsoft complicated matters.

Activision were acquired by Microsoft in January for almost $70 billion, although the buyout isn’t expected to be completed till 2023.

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Blizzard unveils the next expansion for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, alongside announcing the long-awaited arrival of Classic: Wrath of the Lich King.

Blizzard Entertainment made two big announcements yesterday in their scheduled livestream. While they were set to unveil the future of their MMORPG, World of Warcraft, they also announced a return to the past. The fan favourite expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, which originally released back in 2008, will be coming to World of Warcraft Classic in 2022. Meanwhile the new expansion was confirmed to be Dragonflight.

Return of the King

The return of Wrath of the Lich King was expected by fans after the successful releases of Burning Crusade Classic last year, and the Classic ‘Season of Mastery’. The latter of which saw players able to join a new server with fresh characters to take on modified versions of the classic game’s challenges.

Wrath of the Lich King, by recorded subscription numbers, was the most popular of the game’s current nine iterations. Returning it to classic servers seems like a no-brainer, but Blizzard have already announced a single but important change to the game. The automatic ‘Dungeon Finder’ feature which was added to the game later on in Wrath of the Lich King’s life, won’t be appearing in the new ‘Classic’ version. Lead Producer of WoW Classic, Holly Longdale described the feature as being one that wasn’t a good fit for the Classic community. The WoW Classic experience is touted as one that returns to the more social and community focused experience of the earlier days.

As such, this may be the last expansion to hit Classic servers, as many members of the community view Wrath of the Lich King as the last expansion made to the original vision for the game. Considering it’s successes however, it doesn’t seem like Blizzard will be abandoning the project any time soon, and we could be looking at more ‘seasons of mastery’ in the future, potentially for Burning Crusade, and Wrath of the Lich King.

Soaring to new horizons

Looking to the future, the new name of the game is Dragonflight. As speculated by many fans, in the MMORPG’s ninth expansion the dragons will be taking centre stage. Set in their long abandoned former homeland, the Dragon Isles, the expansion will see explorers from the Horde and Alliance, travelling by ship to the newly revealed islands alongside their draconic allies. Lead narrative designer, Steve Danuser describes the isles as a place that has lain dormant for 10,000 years, hidden by ancient magic. But now as the elements and life begins to return to the land, the titanic watchers have re-activated the beacon, and recalled the dragons back to their home.

Described as an adventure of exploration and discovery, rather than warfare or grand cosmic stakes, your character will venture to the new lands alongside other explorers and researchers, rather than soldiers. Players will traverse rocky shores, long sprawling plains, icy mountains, and ancient ruins, all while the land comes alive around them with devastating elemental forces. During the new experience, players will be able to ride on a customizable dragon mount. This ‘dragon riding’ feature promises to update the experience of flying in the game, making it more dynamic with momentum, speed, and gravity being important factors.

But players who would rather be a dragon, than ride one, are not out of luck. The livestream also announced the new playable race, The Dracthyr. These draconic and humanoid hybrids will be able to pick either faction to play on, but have access to only one class. The Evoker. The Evoker is a new class, exclusive to the Dracthyr, which will give players the ability to make use of their draconic wings and breath weapons, along with colour based magics, to both damage enemies and heal allies.

Other changes and updates are set to come alongside the expansion as well. These include a return to the more classic style of ‘talent trees’, where players will earn points to customize their character every level. Professions will also be seeing an update. Gathering and crafting is said to have been greatly expanded, with the ability to specialize into more niche areas, and to complete work orders for other players. Additionally, updates to the UI to make the HUD more modern and customizable will be coming as well.

More to come

More news is expected to come out over the next few months, in the build up to these releases. No window for a release date was given for Dragonflight, but alpha and beta testing is expected to start later this year. Wrath of the Lich King Classic is slated for release in 2022. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for future updates. In other news, in May the studio will offer a preview of Warcraft’s first game built from the ground up for mobile, which is scheduled for release later this year.

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The post Dragonflight: The new expansion for World of Warcraft first appeared on Get2Gaming.

Blizzard has confirmed additional details about its plans to reveal the next World of Warcraft expansion.

The studio said last month that it would announce a new World of Warcraft expansion during an online event on April 19, and it has now confirmed exactly when and where fans can tune in.

Players will be able to watch the reveal stream on YouTube and Twitch from 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST / 6pm CEST.

World of Warcraft has received a new expansion roughly every two years since its 2004 launch, recieving it’s 8th expansion in November 2020 in the form of Shadowlands. With the 9th set to be announced during this livestream. Though historically World of Warcraft expansions have usually been announced at the studio’s own convention Blizzcon. The event has been suspended due to the global pandemic. This makes the upcoming expansion the first to be announced to a solely online audience.

“With the story in the Shadowlands coming to a conclusion, the time is at hand to get a sneak peek at what’s next for the heroes of Azeroth,” Blizzard said on Tuesday. However, keen-eyed fans may have already unearthed some hints about what could be in store for the game.

Dragonflight Rumours

Reported by Wowhead earlier this month, the expansion’s name may be ‘Dragonflight’. Unearthed from within the code of the official website, an update has been found which is thought to have leaked the name. the website’s public source code shows strings for the Dragonflight Base, Heroic and Epic Expansion pre-purchases. Similarly, the code points to a new, though currently inaccessible URL, which would be expected for a new expansion launch: dragonflight.blizzard.com.

This theory is corroborated by a second apparent leak which occoured on the same day. The leak reveals apparent key artwork for the expansion, along with a logo containing the same Name.The key art itself features Alexstrasza, the Dragonqueen of the Red Flight, in a new outfit never seen before, with her draconic form behind her. Though an imperfect view, the art is incredibly well-made, and appears to be in the form of posters similar to those found at BlizzCon and other events.

This seems to have all but confirmed to many, the prevailing theory that a dragon themed expansion was around the corner for the long running MMORPG. At the end of last year, Blizzard offered a Dragon Pack cash shop bundle, pairing several draconic mounts and minions together in a theming tactic used in the past to hint at future releases. Furthermore at the start of the year Wowhead uncovered new encrypted content going to live servers, which included textures and particle effects for a mount, a pet, and some additional items.The mount’s file name, 9fx_drakemountemerald_buff_4219045, suggested it to be a green dragon, known by fans to be the guardians of the druidic, Emerald Dream.

This led fans to speculate that the next expansion may take place on either the Dragon Isles, or Emerald Dream. Though the latter’s corrupted side, the Emerald Nightmare served as the setting for the opening raid of the Legion expansion, neither location has ever made it into the game as a fully explorable location. This is despite initial plans to include both from the very beginning, before the game’s 2004 launch.

All together, the leaks suggest that the Dragon Isles are the more likely of the two locations to become the setting of the next expansion. This lines up with what was suggested in an interview with game director Ion Hazzikostas, who implied that the team planned to follow up the more cosmic and high-concept setting of the Shadowlands, with something more terrestial and traditional for the games fantasy setting.

Whatever the expansion reveal ends up containing, we won’t know for sure until the livestream next week, on April 19

In other news, in May the studio will offer a preview of Warcraft’s first game built from the ground up for mobile, which is scheduled for release later this year.

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The post World of Warcraft expansion reveal stream, time announced first appeared on Get2Gaming.

A bird in the coal Mines

Raven software is a name you might not know, but that never the less is a studio that created some of the biggest games in the PC space post doom, and whose history is maybe one of the saddest stories in this industry. Raven made good games. For a time they would take the latest engine Extradimensional Hyperbrain Meme John Carmack had created and make a game better than the guys at ID software did. With the Wolfenstein 3D engine they made Shadowcaster, with the Doom Engine they made Heretic and Hexen, With the Quake Engine they made Mageslayer and heretic 2. With the doom 3 Engine they made Quake 4 and Wolfenstein(2009). Even when they weren’t working with ID-tech they made some genuine classics, like Star wars Jedi knight II, which in my opinion was the best version of light-saber combat ever.

Then Activision showed up.

Ravens last stand alone game was singularity. The project took a long time to develop, and was even briefly canceled at one time. The final game is far less ambitious than was probably originally intended, but overall it still came out OK. unfortunately it did not sell well. Following Singularities release, Raven would be put onto working on the DLC for the Call of Duty games by activision, eventually ending up as the lead dev on the games Battle royal mode warzone. But even then, these where good devs, who made good games that maybe didnt do so well but they had spark man. If you haven’t played it, track down a copy of Singularity, or of Quake 4, or of heretic. Because raven deserves to be talked about more.

The Phoenix?

Things got worse last year, when activision fired a number of members of the QA department who had previously been promised pay rises. Following the other recent activision blizzard controversies, Raven Software staff went on strike and, as of the 21st, gathered enough signatures to unionize. From then, Activision had 4 days to recognise the union. Now, to be completely fair to activision, they were just acquired by Microsoft so there is probably a lot on their minds regarding that, but as of now, activision has not voluntarily recognized the Game Workers Alliance, the union that Raven QA staff have formed.

With the recognition deadline passed, Raven employees will now move forward with plans to file for a union election through the National Labor Relations Board, as confirmed though a series of tweets.

We, the supermajority of workers at Raven QA, are proud to be confidently filing our petition with the NLRB for our union election. (1/5)

— Game Workers Alliance 💙#WeAreGWA (@WeAreGWA) January 26, 2022

Recently, Studio Head Brian Raffel announced an organizational change that would dissolve the QA team and transfer those workers to other departments arround the studio. Given the announcements timing and its focus on the QA department this has been perceived as an attack against the union, with the CWA commenting on this on twitter.

This announcement, which came three days after Raven QA workers publicly requested recognition of their union – @WeAreGWA (CWA) – is nothing more than a tactic to thwart Raven QA workers who are exercising their right to organize.

— CODE-CWA (@CODE_CWA) January 25, 2022

The current mood

As of Right now, Activision Blizzard Employees have the supermajority of votes in favor of unionizing, which is unsurprising given the last year of controversy surrounding the studio. They are in the Process of bringing their case to the NLRB. however this process can be protracted, which would give more leverage to leadership of activision blizzard.

Cornell professor of labor and employment law Risa Lieberwitz told The Washington Post that the structural changes shouldn’t interrupt the unionization process, but added that the timing “raises the question of whether [Activision Blizzard] are retaliating against the QA employees because of their union activities.”

#FreeRaven.

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I’m back in black baby! Which is to say, I’m reporting on recent statements from Overwatch 2 staff regarding how Bobby Kotick contributed to slowing down development.

In the immortal words of Shaun Andjen, “I may not know much about fine art, but I do know how to kick a man when he’s down“.

Tracy Kennedy (Professional Rhyming Name-Haver), a producer on Overwatch 1&2, opened up recently regarding issues developers were facing, largely caused by Bobby Kotick (Professional Trash-Mammal). So, let’s unpack this, shall we?

Monsieur Kotique would reportedly repeatedly ‘shove “random projects for OW1″‘ for the devs working on Overwatch 2. This contributed to resources being spread thinner than marmite on unbuttered rivita.

Kennedy also alleged the team had to work overtime to keep up with Kocktick’s demands, resulting in various projects getting scraped in service of keeping the content train running for Overwatch 1.

Tracy Kennedy brought up these claims in response to a recent Bobby Kotick interview, wherein he claimed the Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 delays were major reasons for his leave… I don’t think Bobby’s lying here, maybe he magically realized that his lack of business skills are only matched by his lack of basic human decency.

Feel free to have a butcher’s at Tracy’s tweet if you’re in the mood for putting another anti-Kotick zinger on the spit.

Tracy Kennedy’s statements (as far as I’m aware) haven’t been backed up or denied by other Activision Blizzard staff (ex or otherwise). But let’s not mince words, if bossman says what the bossman wants, then bossman’s wants what’s driving the bossman’s business down, see?

I’ll stop doing that when it stops being funny to read those sections in a 1920s-style radio commentator voice! And on a vaguely-related note, I was today years old when I found out Jimmy Stewart took part in a celebrity roast of Dean Martin! Guess I know what I’ll be up to on my off-hours. Some have studied The Blade. I studied The Roast!

Product Poems:

Yakuza collect debt repaid by Lannister. Honorborne.

Party? Study? Rebel? On my own time, my final fantasy.

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The post Overwatch 2 Producer Blames Delays on Kotick! first appeared on Get2Gaming.

Oh, Bobby Kotick. Bobbert Kotique. Boobie Kocktick. Soon-to-be former Blizzard CEO! It seems our whirlwind parasocial romance of venomous mockery is coming to a close. Now that Microsoft has bought out Activision Blizzard (click here for our breakdown on that chestnut), I probably won’t be able to keep taking the mick out of you unless you decided to build up a new company from the ground-up… But, as much as I hate to admit it, the desire to reduce your chances of harassing others in the gaming industry somewhat outweigh my desire to monetize the act of reading your soul to filth!

So, for possibly the last time ever: I offer onto you, dear reader, that one “Bobbert Kotique” meme I made in an attempt to make that running gag a thing outside of my blogs!

That’s enough heart-bleeding for one day, back to the news: The Wallstreet Journal has confirmed that Bobby Kotick WILL be stepping down from Activision Blizzard once the acquisition deal with Microsoft has neared it’s completion.

Phil Spencer of Microsoft has also stated Activision Blizzard and Microsoft will ‘continue to operate independently’, until the deal has been completed, then he’ll become the new chief.

All parties involved were unanimous on Bobby Kotick  leaving (took em long enough), but all agreed he should also get a payout of $300 million. GameBizUK over on Twitter shared a post confirming that Kotique’s entitlement to a payout specifically under the circumstances of change of company control had been planed for via prior employee agreement document. It may be more than the man deserves, but at least he’ll definitely be getting the boot!

A Brief Summary: Because on the offhand you made it this far in the blog WITHOUT knowing the Bobby Kotick drama, then you’re probably thinking “why is this angry and surprisingly articulate journalistic black belt so hard on this Bobby fellow? Some of my best friends are bobbies“. To cut a long story short: Activision Blizzard is a famous gaming company and Kotick owned a huge share. A billion sexual harassment lawsuits revealed the horrific treatment of women and people of colour at the company, as well as the Blizzard board’s attempts to cover things up. For more on that, have a butcher’s hook at our past articles.

Bobby Kotick claimed the sexual harassment lawsuits and allegations had ‘nothing to do’ with selling Blizzard to Microsoft… You know, in the same way that the FBI encouraging Martin Luther King’s suicide had “nothing to do” with anything.

In summary: It’s good that we’re seeing major changes here, but remember that even once Activision Blizzard has been bought, this won’t be the end. I encourage you, dear reader, to be as critical and vigilant for harassment and discrimination as I am with regards to Kotick and other major industry figures.

Product Poems (click the links, see what I’m selling):

Bioshock? Collection. Chemstunned? Erection!

“Yer a wizard, Harry“. I’m a what? “Deaf too, I suppose”. You wot?

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The post Blizzard “Woes”: Bobby Kotick’s $300 Million Payout Leave first appeared on Get2Gaming.

Microsoft, the parent company of Xbox, has declared that it has acquired Activision Blizzard in the largest-ever deal in the gaming business. Xbox now owns exclusive rights to Call of Duty, Warcraft, Overwatch, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, and other games, for a total cost of up to $70 billion, according to the business press.

Once finished, it’s possible that some of the largest entertainment franchises will remain exclusive to Xbox systems, and that subsequent releases will be available on Xbox’s Game Pass subscription service on the day of their release.

Following the completion of the transaction, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming firm in terms of revenue, trailing only Tencent and Sony.

Microsoft’s Head of Games Comments on Activision Blizzard Acquisition

Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s head of games, said in a statement:

“We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented, dedicated people across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and every team across Activision Blizzard.

“Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.”

A lot of titles fall under ownership of Activision Blizzard, so it’s crazy to think that we could be seeing titles like Diablo and Overwatch becoming Xbox exclusives, alongside many others. Who knows what the future holds for some of the biggest titles in gaming.

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The post Activision Blizzard Acquired by Xbox in 70bn Dollar Deal first appeared on Get2Gaming.