Activision Blizzard Boss Bobby Kotick Warns Billion Dollar Buyout Saga Ain't Over

As if the slimey toad isn't already rich beyond measure. I truly don't understand the greed of some people. But hey that's how it goes and always will be I suppose.

Hopefully, Kotick is wrong and Activision-Blizzard remains free from Microsoft's clutches.

Can we just stick this ahole on devil's Island or some other hell hole?

Trying to get that massive payday lol

Homie wants to get paid. He needs this deal to go through by any means necessary.

Regardless of which side you fall on with this deal, I think everyone can agree it's wonderful to see Kotick squirming like a child who didn't get his way. Cry more Bobby.😂

This is going to take soooo loooong.... we might be hearing about this acquisition all the way into 2024.

Interesting repercussions from this roadblock, some of the parties that were offered 10 year deals to stream microsoft and ABK deals are not huge entities, and being able to offer ABK game streaming would had brought them a significant influx of users.

Due to how volatile the market is still, being so young, without this deal they might simply go out of business, all because of a blockage supposedly done to protect them. Think some of them have already expressed their frustration with this blockage.

No, they have no facts on their side other than a lack of innovation means they feel they must resort monopoly tactics.
I hope this gets blocked and puts off any other publisher from wanting to be bought out by MS.
@Korgon Haha, that’s great.

@Tharsman Then they should rely on business other than a very shaky deal that has a huge amount of legitimate reasons to be blocked. They should not be relying on this deal.
And that’s no reason for the deal to go through either.

that idiot is completely guilty of ruining Actiblizz to the point of having to be bought

Seems little Bobby is a wee bit miffed he isn't getting that golden parachute hahaha! I guess he just doesn't have the same level of swag as Uncle Jim "I'm Gonna Block Your Merger" Ryan.

Awww. What a cute baby

@Jaz007 so…. If a company can’t survive without these ABK games, they should just get better or out of the businesses?

@Tharsman Tell me Tharsman, if MS cared so much about these "parties", why did they wait until their attempted acquisition was under scrutiny to show it? They've had 6 years to make these kind of deals with others, to try and help the poor little guys who might go out of business.

If this buyout doesn't go through, I'm sure MS will at least attempt to honour those agreements by bringing all of their already owned content to these struggling companies.... right?

Also, f**k Bobby Kotick. This pos should have been removed from the industry a long time ago for the disgusting things he's done to others.

@Intr1n5ic who cares if they care? The point is the deals are signed and already in effect. These companies are already streaming PC Microsoft games, but they won’t get to stream ABK games that have a way higher demand.

I have zero illusions MS is doing anything out of their love for these upstarts.

The CMA haven't had a case overturned in 19 years. They've been against Nvidia and Meta. Also don't forget that the EU etc etc..Good luck Bobby..

@Tharsman Well, I guess this is a lesson, for the time being at least, to not make deals with people before you're actually in a position to see them through.

@TheLotteryMan1 they lost a case just last year against Meta, and another case in 2020 against Pfizer, and that was just a quick google search.

@Intr1n5ic it’s not really such a lesson since they still get to stream all existing and future Microsoft and Bethesda games for 10 years. My point is simply that these small companies would greatest benefit from having access to CoD, helping them grow and cement themselves just like Netflix did.

Netflix had a similar affair with Starz, and the only reason they exist today is thanks to that initial deal to stream other people’s content.

The CMA never lose or never change they’re minds this deal is over Microsoft can keep fighting it all they want and keep losing money lol.

Yeah, we know…and he should’ve gone years ago.

@Tharsman Bobby has been talking a lot about his support for choice and competition recently, I'm sure he can bring COD to all of these companies to help cement themselves if this doesn't go through.

@Tharsman I meant they never had a case overturned in 19 years . Once they've made they minds up..Edited..

I just want them to explain how a big corpo acquiring another big corpo is "good for competition" they really just need to explain that one thing to me.

We could always debate if that is a toupee or a scalped cocker spaniel stapled to koticks head in between the heated debates of industry consolidation by giant tech companies bad vs but Sony has Spider-Man so Microsoft monopoly good.

@RonnieL pretty sure he already has that and wants more. His bonuses could make all of us Push Square live comfortably.

I have been made fun of so much online saying Cloud is the future of non hardcore gamers, and now the CMA say’s thats their fear and fan’s are on board with the legitimacy of cloud. I mean the internet never stops being shy with ignorance. MS with or without this deal will control massive share of cloud, cause they have invested tons of money into the infrastructure. This deal is about mobile and active users. Console profits are on the decline across the big 3 as a total gen to gen and MS having smaller market share there then the Big N and PlayStation means even less profit from console. It’s about active users going forward. I see Sony signing on to cloud after the PS5 gen a little more. Jim Ryan can follow money with the best of them. I’ll give him that.

@Tharsman If monopoly tactics are required for them to stay in business, then yes

@TheCollector316 If Microsoft doesn't buy them... Another billion company in the game industry will buy them. So it a lose-lose situation.

evil dwarf and dim ryan gotta go ! M$ please save gaming !

@AverageGamer
I'd argue a more neutral party purchasing ABK would be better than Microsoft doing it even if the consolidation sucks.

I’m curious how business will be between Sony and Activision if the deal ends up not going through. I know the CMA reasoning wasn’t specifically console related, but there were words.

In other news, has anyone seen Michael Pachter’s take on the deal? He’s of the mindset that it will still go through, with spot on Pachter reasoning! 😂🤣💀

About the only thing that hasn't happened in ABK & Microsoft's veiled threats is a rally with Bobby Kotick & "Gamer" Phil Spencer to storm the CMA with a Shaman weirdo & "take what's theirs"!!🙄

None of their vaunted 10year deals are with any genuine competition with Microsoft. Nintendo hasn't had a COD since early Wii U era that Bobby Kotick couldn't have been bothered by it.
It only mattered when Activision Execs suddenly found themselves mired in numerous investigations & Bobby's shares took a nasty downfall.

But instead of the ABK board of cronies trying to get rid of him they look for a Vince McMahon style deal with Microsoft & their multi millions legal settlement bailouts to make it all disappear & give them golden parachutes.

Heaven forbid Gamer Phil Spencer should take Microsoft's lawyers assertions that Sony should "make their own COD" & use their 70 billion to do the same?!🙄😂 Oh that's right,far easier to buy up existing 3rd party AAA IP's & keep future releases permanently off your competitors!

Can we just replace all the Jim gifs with Bobby gifs from now on? It would help democratize push square by ensuring everyone is equally repulsed by the headlines rather than merely a majority of ps customers. Thx!

Let's all remember to thank the UK for keeping this man in charge. 🤣

@Jaz007 glad we agreed Sony should stop using their market position to secure exclusive content deals that further increase their maker dominance.

@TheCollector316 Anyone who can purchase ABK isn't necessarily going to be a neutral party. Companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook all have their own platforms and services that can benefit from the purchase of ABK, and they don't generally care about what Sony think. They also aren't going to play nice like Microsoft was with handing out deals and contacts.

Thank god I read the article and re-read the title. I thought it said Sega buyout Almost spat my coffee out!

@Tharsman why is every Xbox fan obsessed with exclusive content and the delusion it’s only Sony that purchase it? it’s like your running out of things to be hypocritical about. An exclusive costume or gun camo is not going to be the reason someone buys a game on one console or another. And even if it was it was Microsoft, not Sony, who opened the door to this crap with cod back in the 360 days. They did it first now Sony do it better…..get over it.

@lacerz it will still happen ms are already threatening taking business out of the uk unless they change there mind. Also telling eh to approve it and they will get their business. Blackmail at its finest

@Jill_Sandwich it's not exactly smarter to have more money...

@Jill_Sandwich well, of course. But what option do you have when you cannot afford it? You'd have a point if you were talking about companies that Sony, too, could afford. Then, buying them would have been the smarter option.

Also, the COD deals are unlikely to have been useless. They obviously have persuaded a certain number of people to get COD on ps instead of xb and their friends likely followed.

Stfu Bobby, you are highly disliked by people with decent morals.

@Jill_Sandwich bad take. People moved away from those series. A kill zone was released on ps4, sold not great and was never discussed as being anything more than an average game.

I'm looking forward to the court case. We got such an interesting insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the gaming industry from the disclosure in Epic v Apple, and (despite the redactions) in the submissions made by Sony and MS to the various regulators in relation to this acquisition. Personally, I hope this thing runs and runs and we continue to get these tid-bits of information that the companies usually keep to themselves.

The EU will block the acquisition. They delayed their decision just to wait what the CMA was going to decide. They just barely avoided a huge conflict with the UK because of the border tradings around Northern Ireland. Do you really believe they will endanger that fragile agreement because of a merger between Activision and Microsoft? By adding another potential conflict?

When it comes to games developed in Japan, I'm not convinced that Sony is actually locking those down in every case. XB has a tiny, tiny market share there, which is its own fault for not making games or products that appeal to that market. If I were a Japanese dev making a game, I'm not sure I'd bother with all the hassle involved in developing, certifying, keeping patched and updated, etc, for a console where I don't expect to sell very many copies.

@StrickenBiged yeah, jrpgs makers have historically skipped Xbox because (I assume) they aren't a big seller among the Xbox audience.
The only ones Xbox seems to get are ones that get gamepass deals.

Cope and seeth Bobby boy 😂😂😂

@Jill_Sandwich
Not Sonys fault that Microsoft cant make great games and sell games or consoles.
So how is it good for gamers when a company that cant make their own games good is buying up everything?

Oh I see you get cheap games on gamepass, so you dont care about gaming only your own wallet.

@Jamesblob Microsoft publicly swiping at Britain as a whole is deeply irritating (as a Brit!) It's the headline news on the BBC site at the moment.

@Jill_Sandwich Playstation proved again and again they are making great games and they made their money with creativity and dedication to gaming just like Nintendo did. Xbox hasn't produced any triple A in the last decade. They earned their money not with gaming. Their way of doing business in the gaming industry is we don't have the creativity and means to produce good games so we throw around money we haven't earned in the industry and buy all the publishers they get their hands on. And dominate the market with money and not creativity. I wouldn't have such a hard judgement if they at least produced a few great triple A games in the past. But nothing just promises. Microsoft should stop wasting their attention on the acquisition and concentrate their effort on producing games. Like Indiana Jones, Fable and Hellblade II. I have been waiting for these games way to long just like most gamers. Give me a reason to invest in a new xbox.

Can't be more a villain if he tried.
I am so happy Bobby got showed the middle finger. 😀

@lacerz I recon Microsoft will get offered deals on Activision Blizzard franchises including COD & Microsoft will ramp up smaller studio acquisitions, expand its already owned teams & be aggressively going after 3rd party exclusives.

@Jill_Sandwich "Neither Sony or Microsoft can make games so they buy people"

Yes, Sony has had such a hard time making successful games lately.

R.I.P., facts.

@BadPlayerOne wait, isn't Forza, Halo, etc AAA?

Bobby has 4,305,890 shares in ABK, so multiply that by its share price ($95) which Microsoft would have paid to find what he would have pocketed.

Plus a rumor has it that he was going to receive $30 million from MS as part of the buyout clause. I'm sure he would have expected to be let go by MS after some time, with a golden parachute which would be another three-figure million.

So, our sympathies to big Bobby.

@Balosi it doesn't look good for us though as one minute Rishi is wanting tech companies from all over the world to flock here then our regulators show there are a bit clueless in the topic. So we have blacklisted Russia, China is next on the hit list & US companies will be reluctant to invest.

Classic Reptilian, am’I right?! 🤪

@Jill_Sandwich That's like saying Microsoft doesn't make Xbox because it's not a hardware company.... 360 and XB one were outsourced to Flextronics. Not sure who handles the Series.

@Jill_Sandwich do you want Shu himself to make them?

@cragis0001 not agreeing with you certainly doesn't mean clueless.

@Jill_Sandwich "There is no difference except Microsoft has more money to spend than Sony.

That's the cold hard unbiased truth."

This is an example of why I'm vehemently against everyone having access to the Internet.

@Jill_Sandwich No thank you, I value my brain cells.

@Tharsman I know it's probably just how these things work but it never really sat well with me that Microsoft were offering these 10 year deals for things that they didn't actually own yet and could possibly be blocked. Especially being so public about it. I get that the deals were made to try and appease the regulators and garner positive public perception of the deal but in my opinion they were offering something that wasn't theirs to offer at that particular time.

So many tears I've cried
So much pain inside
But baby, it ain't over 'til it's over

@GeeEssEff you missing plenty of context here. Sony is the one complaining that they will be entirely ruined if CoD is not 100% available on PS, with absolutely all content and parity. I’m just pointing that hypocrisy, but Sony fans don’t seem to get it.

@Kevw2006 Steam and Nintendo deals aside, all the other 10 year deals they made and offered were for all content they owned, and all future content they buy. Yes it was to appease regulators, but they still offered and granted effectively now content they do own to all those streaming services.

The ABK specific deal and bits were simply promises and legally binding proof they would keep their word (at least for 10 years.)

There is something wrong when buying Activision is this much of a big deal.

Whether Microsoft acquired ABK or not, this disgusting waste of oxygen needs to go. I don’t even care that he’d get a massive severance as long as he’s removed from the industry.

@Jill_Sandwich apples to oranges as usual, I see.

Wait, didn’t they get rid of this curse in the last one?

And that is why I love Britain!!! When there is some disgusting sh*t happening and rest of the world is deaf and blind to it, Britain just uses brains and says: "No, this is bad."

@Balosi of course the CMA are clueless as they stated the Switch couldn't run Call of Duty as an excuse to dismiss it. As for Cloud. If both Sony & Nintendo showed more interest they'd be successful rivals just to name two. Plus there is nothing stopping others like Amazon's Luna from taking off as Microsoft may have a lead in Cloud which makes up 2% of the overall gaming industry footprint in the UK.

It's one thing to say that the merger does not pose the risk of a future monopoly. I disagree, but there's a discussion to be had here.

But Kotick has the audacity to say that "this deal is good for competition", then he immediately loses the plot.

Lucifer didn't get paid

Well isn't he Trumping around.

'Warns'....LOL. Ok Bobby!