The new voice of Wario — or at least, the person behind his grumpy moustachioed mouth in WarioWare: Move It! — looks to be Kevin Afghani, the actor also cast as the new voices of both Mario and Luigi.
Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard — now what? | Kaser Focus
14.10.2023 - 05:21 / venturebeat.com / Sherlock Holmes / Phil Spencer / Bobby Kotick / Agatha Christie / Candy Crush / Kevin Afghanistan
In case you haven’t heard, Microsoft today finally completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King after 21 months of prep work and grappling with regulatory bodies. The $69 billion deal sees several of gaming’s most lucrative franchises come under the Microsoft/Xbox umbrella, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Warcraft, etc. However, this begs the question: Now that the whole rigmarole of acquisition is done, what happens for Activision Blizzard now?
The short answer, coming from Phil Spencer himself, appears to be that Microsoft is working to get Activision Blizzard games onto Xbox Game Pass. He didn’t say specifically which games — and Activision Blizzard has said it anticipates its games hitting Game Pass next year at the earliest. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is likely to retire sometime early next year, probably taking with him his $15 million golden parachute.
As for the news outside the acquisition, the most important news that I can see is that games workers are starting to unionize in response to the increasing number of industry layoffs. According to my colleague Jordan Fragen’s recent report, there have been over 6,100 layoffs just since the beginning of the year. Now this week we’ve heard that workers from CD Projekt Red and Avalanche have begun the move to unionize, with the former doing so in response to the company’s multiple waves of layoffs.
In personal news, I’m hustling to finish my review of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 in time for the embargo lift on Monday. I have no shortage of games to play in October once I’m done with that — Assassin’s Creed Mirage awaits me, as does Lords of the Fallen and Super Mario Bros Wonder (with new voice actor Kevin Afghani) later this month. I also realized that Microids is remaking its Agatha Christie title Murder on the Orient Express. I’m not sure why I’m getting remakes of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened and one of my other point-and-click favorites in one year, but I’m not complaining.
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venturebeat.com
26.10.2023 / 17:53
Microsoft reorgs Xbox leadership following Activision acquisition
Microsoft is shaking up the structure and leadership of its Xbox gaming and marketing divisions shortly after its record-breaking $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Matt Booty was promoted to president of game content and studios, which will oversee ZeniMax and Bethesda. Likewise, Sarah Bond will now serve as president of Xbox. Her responsibilities will include overseeing Xbox’s platform and hardware strategy. Finally, Chris Capossela, chief marketing officer, has stepped down after 32 years at Microsoft.
gamespot.com
25.10.2023 / 13:43
Former PlayStation Boss Sounds The Alarm After Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard
Sony veteran Shawn Layden has warned of the impact consolidation will have on studios' creativity.
venturebeat.com
21.10.2023 / 00:07
California — and GamesBeat Next — here I come! | Kaser Focus
In case you’ve somehow missed it, GamesBeat is holding its Next event early next week in San Francisco. As always, I’ll be there, probably in a costume of some kind, to participate. If you’re interested in seeing what the future of games looks like and what some of the most interesting new ideas in the industry are shaping into, then come and join us! I’ll be moderating the Women in Gaming breakfast panel with several exceptional women in the industry, as well as a panel on mixed reality ahead of the Apple Vision Pro. Registration is still open here.
gamingbolt.com
17.10.2023 / 23:09
Activision Blizzard Games Won’t Come to Game Pass Before 2024 – Phil Spencer
Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard surely hit its fair share of roadblocks in the approval process, but at long last, the deal was formally closed last week, with Microsoft officially welcoming Activision Blizzard King to Xbox. A deal of this magnitude is obviously going to have a significant impact on the industry for years to come, but where the immediate future is concerned, many will be hoping to see games in the Activision Blizzard back catalog being added to the Game Pass catalog.
gamesindustry.biz
16.10.2023 / 19:07
So, Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard. How will this affect the rest of the industry?
The deal is done. Activision Blizzard is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft after two years of regulatory investigations and in the face of protests from various corners of the games industry.
thesixthaxis.com
15.10.2023 / 12:59
Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard King
Microsoft has completed their vast $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, less than half a day after the UK Competition Markets Authority (CMA) gave their approval to a revised package of concessions.
thesixthaxis.com
13.10.2023 / 22:37
The CMA has finally approved Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition
The UK’s Competition Markets Authority (CMA) has given the go-ahead for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, accepting the tech giant’s modified deal and how it addresses concerns over cloud gaming competition. Microsoft could complete the deal within the next few days.
venturebeat.com
13.10.2023 / 21:17
Microsoft completes its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King
After several months of grappling with federal investigations, Microsoft has closed its deal to acquire Activision Blizzard King. The console manufacturer officially acquired the games company for $69 billion, gaining ownership of several lucrative franchises, including Call of Duty, Warcraft and Candy Crush. This follows the news earlier this morning that authorities had removed the final regulatory roadblock allowing the deal to happen.
theverge.com
13.10.2023 / 19:47
Here’s Mario’s new voice actor
By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.
ign.com
13.10.2023 / 18:15
Now That Microsoft Owns Activision Blizzard, Fans Are Setting Out Their Resurrected Games Wishlist
In case you did not know, Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard after announcing the plans over a year ago. With the merger now complete, Xbox owns some of the biggest gaming franchises, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft.
