Activision Blizzard News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Amazon is heading into one of its biggest sales events of the year — Prime Day — with a lawsuit hanging over its head that accuses it of preventing sellers from hawking their merchandise at lower prices on other sites.

There’s a new and interesting feature coming to the next season of Overwatch 2 Season 7, which is Group Respawn for non-competitive modes. Blizzard is implementing this with the aim of having teammates group up faster and easier. But how exactly does Group Respawn work? Let me explain more about this new feature as I give you details from the patch notes.

With the upcoming update for Season 7 of Overwatch 2, Blizzard has now introduced new Unranked leaver penalties. And by new, I mean harsher. Previously, players in Unranked matches who left early a few times would gain less XP in subsequent matches. Now things are a little different.

Almost two years ago, Microsoft announced it was acquiring Activision Blizzard for a colossal $69 billion. Reports say the acquisition deal is expected to close this week and Xbox players are anticipating the addition of Activision Blizzard games to the Game Pass lineup. However, a new tweet by Activision Blizzard makes it sound like the company's games won't hit the subscription service until next year. Plus, Activision Blizzard says it won't be adding the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III or the recently released Diablo IV to Game Pass this year.

By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.

With Microsoft’s impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it seemed like a no-brainer to many that the latter’s games would end up coming to PC and Xbox Game Pass. Activision, however, has revealed that there are no plans to bring Activision or Blizzard games to Game Pass in 2023.

With the approval of Microsoft’s efforts to acquire Activision Blizzard looking almost certain to close by next week, Activision Blizzard is beginning to discuss what might happen next in terms of its games and Game Pass.

Activision Blizzard has confirmed that it could start bringing its titles to Game Pass in 2024.

Microsoft is aiming to close its $69 billion deal for "Call of Duty" publisher Activision Blizzard on Oct. 13 if it gets approval from Britain's antitrust regulator, the Verge reported on Friday, citing a source.

Gloves, Boots, and Gear replace the traditional Perk system we all know and love from previous Call of Duty games. These items function similarly to Perks, and you can assemble incredibly unique combinations. As you may expect, gear in MW3 isn’t created equally. With this in mind, let me show you the best gear in the MW3 beta, ranked.

I never thought I’d see the day when the perk system in Call of Duty finally gets an overhaul. Well, in MW3, the developers have decided enough is enough. It’s not a massive change, but Perk effects are now granted to players based on the gear they are wearing. Gloves can grant several powerful advantages, and good players will pick these based on their playstyles. If you’re looking for the best gloves in the MW3 beta, ranked, I’ve got you covered.Related: Do you have to pre-order MW3 to play the beta?

According to a new report by The Verge, Microsoft's long acquisition struggle to own Activision Blizzard should be over next week. 

The saga of Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has dragged on for nearly two years at this point, but after having cleared several major regulatory hurdles, it seems like the $69 billion deal is edging closer to being finalized.

Diablo 4 will be released on Steam this month, Blizzard has announced.

Blizzard Entertainment has laid off several members of the Hearthstone development team, citing «organizational changes» at the studio.

It’s been revealed that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recommenced its fight against Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision, after the trade watchdog lost its legal case attempting to halt the merger back in July.

After previously withdrawing the same, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it will move forward with its in-house trial against Microsoft regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This is after failing to file an injunction to halt the same and its appeal for the case being denied.

Whenever a new season drops for Call of Duty, Warzone usually gets the lion’s share of the attention. In Season 6, players have plenty to look forward to, no matter what game modes they enjoy. If you’re a DMZ player, you’re likely jumping for joy at the changes there, but MW2 players also have plenty to celebrate. Global weapon changes affect every mode, and we have new maps to play on. 4 new and returning maps are now playable in MW2, so let’s check them out.

One developer had been with the company for 18 years.

Last night, talk of layoffs from Activision Blizzard affecting the Hearthstone team began to circulate, with several employees sharing the news. Among them was an engineer that had been with the company for 18 years.

While DMZ may not be the most popular game type in Call of Duty, the mode has come leaps and bounds through the year. DMZ throws Operators into unforgiving battlegrounds infested with AI combatants. The latest patch addresses what many view as the biggest problem in DMZ: team sizes. Until now, you could face a full team of 6 players, even if you queued alone. Thankfully, this is now a thing of the past.

SAG-AFTRA members have voted to authorise a new strike against the video game industry, with an overwhelming 98.32 percent in favour. The union claims that 34,687 members cast ballots, representing 24.49 percent of eligible voters. Bear in mind that this authorisation does not guarantee the strike will happen, but that the union members are serious about stopping work if the unions fail to reach a fair agreement with the companies. The voting period began on September 5 and ended on Monday, September 25, ahead of new negotiations that kickstart on September 26 (PT). If it goes through, this would mark the second video game strike since a similar action took place in 2016 — lasting nearly a year.

With the United States’ FTC having failed to make a strong enough case to block Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) remains among the last major stumbling blocks that the deal needs to clear, and all parties involved have now taken another significant step towards resolution.

We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of «Playing the Edge.» Apply to speak here and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here. At the event, we will also announce 25 top game startups as the 2024 Game Changers. Apply or nominate today!

Call of Duty is no stranger to depictions of drug use and has been that way for years. The in-game store sells a bundle called the “Blunt Fingers” pack, where you can dress up in a ghillie suit made of cannabis. You can even cover your vehicle in weed with the Puff ‘N Go skin or decorate your ISO 45 SMG with the Weed Eater Blueprint.

Gaming companies have been struggling with leaks for years. In February 2022, Rockstar Games was hit with a shocking breach when over 90 early development videos of GTA 6, its rumored next big game, were dumped online on GTAForums by a hacker. We've already had a few leaks during the ongoing FTC vs Microsoft case. In June, Sony presented a document from PlayStation chief Jim Ryan in the court, which detailed its revenue from Call of Duty games, as well as the cost of making AAA titles. Now, another goldmine of leaks has surfaced during the case, and it is being called the “biggest leak in Xbox history”.

Microsoft Corp. mistakenly uploaded confidential information about its video-game operations to a federal court website, according to a person familiar with the matter and a post from a Federal Trade Commission employee.

After recent reports of a successor to the Nintendo Switch being shown off to developers during Gamescom, a new report courtesy of The Verge reveals that Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick was briefed on the Nintendo Switch 2 back in December 2022.

Microsoft Corp.'s attempt at avoiding deeper European Union scrutiny of its Teams video-conferencing app fell flat with the bloc's antitrust enforcers readying a formal complaint against the firm's conduct. Microsoft's recent proposal to split its Teams from a broader business software package and sell it to customers separately with an annual discount wasn't enough to satisfy regulators' concerns, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Microsoft Corp. Xbox chief Phil Spencer said the software giant continues to work with UK regulators to sort out the remaining hurdles to its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc., and the company is confident it can get the deal over the line.

 The most common complaints about Diablo 4 often cite a lack of things to do in the endgame as a chief concern. In theory, seasonal content should fix that, but as evident with The Season of the Malignant, many feel that’s not the case. In an interview with Dexerto, GM Rob Fergusson outlined plans for Diablo 4 moving forward, including yearly Expansions.

The head of the Diablo franchise appears to have confirmed that Diablo 4 will get a new expansion every year.

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Even after Starfield's launch, don't expect to hear more about Bethesda's fantasy RPG anytime soon.

Microsoft has announced it has restructured its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in a bid to appease the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. The CMA has been against the deal for a long time, with a monopoly on gaming via cloud streaming services being its biggest concern. Microsoft's revised deal addresses this directly; once the deal goes through, it will sell the rights to stream Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft.

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check back every Friday for a new entry.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has shed some light to IGN on Microsoft's deal to acquire Activision Blizzard and if that would mean Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard games would arrive on Xbox Game Pass on day one.

Microsoft first announced its intentions to acquire Activision Blizzard in 2022. Since then, the road to closing the deal has been a long, sinuous one. The megacorporation has faced pushback from several sources, including Sony. The competitor argues that the acquisition would be anti-competitive, especially if franchises like Call of Duty become Xbox and PC exclusives. Some governing bodies have also stepped in, now prompting Microsoft to revisit its initial agreement.

The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 57-inch and upgraded Samsung Odyssey Ark 55-inch (model G97NC) are the latest additions to the Samsung Odyssey gaming monitor series. The former of which is the first dual UHD monitor to hit the market, with an astoundingly high resolution that’s sure to provide unparalleled immersion and test any graphics card.

Beth Wilkinson had 10 days to save Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., the biggest gaming deal ever.

Blizzard has announced Diablo 4’s second season.

Microsoft has agreed to give Ubisoft the cloud streaming rights to Call of Duty and all other Activision Blizzard titles releasing over the next 15 years in a bid to push its $68.7 billion merger through in the UK.

Microsoft’s push to get the UK Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) on board with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues, with a surprising new potential partner: Ubisoft. Microsoft has submitted a new proposal for the acquisition after the CMA confirmed the original deal would still be blocked.

Story update: Since the publication of our original story earlier today, it has been confirmed by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick that Microsoft selling off game streaming rights to Ubisoft is indeed intended to directly «address the CMA's concerns» — the Competition and Market's Authority in the UK.

Microsoft and Ubisoft have agreed a 15 year deal that gives Ubisoft the right to stream Activision Blizzard games. This will come into effect once the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been formally confirmed. This will mean services like Ubisoft+ will having streaming rights to the Call of Duty, as well as other Activision Blizzard games that will come in the future.

Microsoft has made a new offer, one that president Brad Smith describes as a «substantially different transaction», in its effort to get its proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard over the finish line with the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority. The CMA had previously blocked the deal on grounds that included concerns about the nascent cloud gaming market, and the restructured deal will see all cloud rights to Activision Blizzard games signed over to Ubisoft for the next 15 years.

By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.

Microsoft has submitted a new deal to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority regulatory agency that proposes Ubisoft get the rights to Activision Blizzard game streaming for 15 years. 

In an attempt to appease the UK’s Competition And Markets Authority (CMA), Microsoft have restructured their proposed Activision Blizzard buyout. Should the deal finally close, cloud streaming rights to existing and future Activision Blizzard games released over the next 15 years will (surprisingly) fall under Ubisoft’s control. Those rights will then stay with Ubisoft “in perpetuity.”

Ubisoft has announced that Activision Blizzard’s titles are coming to its premium subscription service, Ubisoft+. It will receive cloud streaming rights for the “complete slate” of the latter’s titles, including Call of Duty. Once its acquisition by Microsoft is complete, new titles in the next 15 years will also be added.

In the future, will we be streaming our video games rather than downloading them?

Microsoft has made another shocking move to get their merger acquisition deal regulator approval.

Microsoft is attempting to complete its acquisition of Activision Blizzard by restructuring the deal and involving games publisher Ubisoft.

Microsoft will sell the streaming rights to Activision Blizzard games if the merger between the two companies goes ahead, in an effort to get the deal approved in the UK.

French publishing giant Ubisoft has scored the rights to stream Activision Blizzard's stable of games.

Microsoft and Ubisoft have agreed a 15 year deal that gives Ubisoft the right to stream Activision Blizzard games. This will come into effect once the Microsoft of Activision Blizzard has been formally confirmed. This will mean services like Ubisoft+ will having streaming rights to the Call of Duty, as well as other Activision Blizzard games that will come in the future.

Microsoft has submitted a new Activision Blizzard deal for review after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed the original deal is blocked.

Microsoft has restructured its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by agreeing to sell cloud streaming rights to publisher Ubisoft.

Microsoft has agreed to sell the streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft if completes its $68.7bn takeover of the Call of Duty publisher.

We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Summit Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of «Playing the Edge.» Apply to speak  here  and learn more about sponsorship opportunities  here . 

Diablo 4 has had a rocky start with its premiere Season, the Season of the Malignant. Unpopular balance changes prompted an emergency “Campfire Chat” with the developers. Although this quelled many of the community’s frustrations, there’s still more to be done. Thanks to several accounts on Social Media, we have an idea of what’s coming next.

Even the most avid fan can’t deny that Overwatch 2 is in an odd place right now. Whether you’re happy with the gameplay or not, optics surrounding the title are at an all-time low. At the time of writing, Overwatch 2 is the lowest-rated game on Steam, an unthinkable achievement for such a well-known franchise. It appears that the higher-ups at Blizzard have noticed, and their response? Well, it’s something.

Across Warzone‘s lifespan, we’ve seen the rise and fall of many weapons that have dominated the meta. Nobody likes seeing their favorite kitted-out toys fall from grace, but if other weapons get their turn in the spotlight, it keeps everything fresh. The Warzone Shadow Siege Event patch notes bring nerfs to multiple fan-favorite weapons and promise to shake up combat. Check out our article on the event to learn how to participate.

A slew of rewards has just been announced for all Warzone players participating in the MW3 Reveal Event on August 17 at 10:30 am PST. To enter the event, all you need to do is show up in Warzone at the above time and select the ‘Shadow Siege’ playlist.

Activision Blizzard has dropped its legal complaint against a popular content creator that had threatened to sue the publisher after it used an audio clip without permission.

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Overwatch 2 has made history by becoming the worst-reviewed game on Steam. Publisher Blizzard, which usually kept its PC games locked to the Battle.net client, brought its team-based shooter to Steam on August 10, only to be flooded with negative reviews. At the time of writing, merely nine percent of the overall ratings (111,234) are positive, with many criticising the title's approach to locking heroes and cosmetics behind a battle pass and the cancellation of its long-advertised PvE mode. While Blizzard might have expected some backlash, this reception must've been eye-opening for them, given Battle.net did not have a review system in place.

New Zealand's primary competition regulator, the Commerce Commission, has approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

While Microsoft sent its final submission to the Consumer Markets Authority in the UK regarding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, another regular has approved the deal. New Zealand’s Commerce Commission announced its approval, noting its focus on “the importance of Activision games (such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft) to New Zealand gamers.”

One more country has approved Microsoft's mega purchase, leaving only one more pending outside of the UK's roadblock.

New Zealand has become the latest company to approve Microsoft‘s impending purchase of Activision Blizzard.

Today, after a long list of eight delays (called time extensions), the New Zealand Commerce Commission has officially cleared Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. That makes the Pacific Ocean island country the 42nd where the deal has been approved, although technically, the Federal Trade Commission may still continue to pursue its in-house judiciary process even after being defeated in federal court following the request for a preliminary injunction.

Activision Blizzard, one of the most prominent players in the gaming industry, has made an official announcement revealing that this year's addition to the widely acclaimed game series, Call of Duty, will continue the storyline from the preceding year's release. The upcoming game has been named Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, is scheduled for release on November 10. A brief teaser, which surfaced on Monday, hints at the potential comeback of the infamous antagonist, Vladimir Makarov. He has been a well-known recurring adversary in the Call of Duty franchise.

Microsoft has sent a final report to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in an effort to persuade the watchdog to overturn its block on the US tech giant's plan to acquire Activision Blizzard.

With the US Federal Trade Commission’s request for an injunction on the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard denied, approval from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the only obstacle left. The latter initially denied the deal, with an appeal set to occur on July 28th, but the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) provided two months for both parties to resolve the same.

Speaking with the publication Transformer World, a Hasbro representative has revealed that Activision Blizzard currently doesn’t know the whereabouts of the source code for the various Transformers games that they were in charge of publishing.

Following victories over the FTC in the United States and other approvals from regulatory bodies in the EU and other locations, Microsoft is trying to convince the UK Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA ) to change its mind and approve the company’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. In an unusual step, the CMA is requesting new comments on the deal and will consider them ahead of its final order due next month.

Microsoft has submitted a material changes of circumstances document to the UK's regulator which stands opposed to its $68.7bn Activision Blizzard acquisition, urging it to drop its block of the deal.

By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.

The UK regulator the CMA has requested additional comments around Microsoft's bid to buy Activision Blizzard.