Gaming News - Page 116
Activision acquisition not expected to grow Xbox's console business
Microsoft does not expect the Activision buyout to help grow its Xbox console business, and the deal is instead focused on buying out the largest independent non-Chinese mobile games publisher in the world.
Due to its size, successful history, and breadth of AAA hit content, Activision is a unique video games publisher. The company's games catalog includes 8x separate franchises that have grossed over $1 billion across PC, console and mobile, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, Warcraft, and Candy Crush. Based on revenues, Activision has been the top-earning, non-platform-holding video games publisher for many years now.
Interestingly enough, Microsoft does not fully expect the $68.7 billion buyout of Activision to help grow its console share. According to testimony from Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer, the acquisition's deal model does not include an uptick in console share.
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Call of Duty negotiations likely to end mutually, Sony needs COD and Microsoft needs Sony
Based on assessment of key business figures, testimony from Xbox CEO Phil Spencer, and a recently-published bombshell email from Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan, Sony is likely to sign a Call of Duty deal with Microsoft to ensure the $31 billion franchise says on PlayStation.
Microsoft has said it wants to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, and Xbox Gaming CEO Phil Spencer's recent testimony at a court hearing over the Activision merger adds more weight to this assertion.
The evidentiary hearing has been a boon for information on the Xbox business and the complex, highly-secretive inner workings of the video games industry. At the trial, Spencer disclosed key internal acronyms like CSA (Consumer Solutions Area), GLT (Gaming Leadership Team), and PLA (Publisher's Licensing Agreement). Listeners also learned fundamentals on how the Activision merger proposal was put together.
Starfield exclusivity was the last straw for Microsoft, led to $7.5 billion ZeniMax buyout
Sony has used its market-leader position to negotiate exclusivity deals that block games from releasing on Xbox. Due to these deals, in which Sony pays companies to keep their games off of Xbox, Microsoft leadership sees Sony as a "hostile and aggressive competitor." That's why Microsoft fought back by purchasing Bethesda parent company ZeniMax for $7.5 billion.
Sony is no stranger to exclusivity deals. We've seen Sony make wide-sweeping deals that range from timed to full-on exclusivity. Microsoft already misses out on select Call of Duty content, with PlayStation receiving preferential treatment for in-game content and early access betas. Sometimes this exclusivity also makes a game skip Xbox, further weakening Microsoft's position and increasing costs for any exclusivity deals the company wants to offer. We've seen high-profile games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the more recent Final Fantasy 16 avoid Xbox entirely.
In the recent FTC v Microsoft evidentiary hearing, Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer gave rare insight into Microsoft's business structure and the rationale behind its recent acquisitions, including the $7.5 billion ZeniMax buyout, and the proposed $68.7 billion offer for Activision-Blizzard.
Xbox Cloud Gaming was specifically made to reach mobile players
Xbox Cloud Gaming (Project xCloud) was originally created to deliver Xbox console games to mobile devices, but the service has not gone according to plan.
Microsoft's game streaming initiative was born out of necessity. The company--and the rest of the industry--has identified mobile gaming as the largest area of growth, with mobile expected to rise to $113 billion by 2027. While Microsoft has a presence on console and PC, it is significantly lacking in mobile. In an attempt to solve that, the Xbox games division decided to try to bring its existing content library to mobile using cloud gaming instead of creating a smattering of native mobile games.
During his testimony in the federal trial between the FTC and Microsoft/Activision, Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer delivered an insightful history lesson on Xbox Cloud Gaming and revealed why the service was made and why the xCloud platform hasn't gained traction.
Continue reading: Xbox Cloud Gaming was specifically made to reach mobile players (full post)
Only 100 out of Starfield's 1,000 planets have life, Bethesda offers 'magnificent desolation'
Bethesda's Todd Howard reveals that most of Starfield's planets will be devoid of life, and that's as much as a design decision as it is a technical one.
Starfield promises a lot. The game is supposed to have 1,000 planets with exotic flora, fauna, resources, and possibly even strange ancient alien artifacts. We might find things like derelict ships in space, colonies of adventurers that died in mysterious ways, and other forms of unique environmental storytelling that Bethesda is known for.
One thing that Starfield will also have are those lonely, introspective moments of exploration in a vast world--or in this case, galaxy. This is something Bethesda RPGs have, and not all of your expeditions are going to be exciting encounters with life. Your explorations might end up with you being mostly solitary. In a recent interview with Kinda Funny Games, Bethesda's Todd Howard talked more about what gamers can expect when it comes to Starfield's planets and how the team is looking to a distinct Buzz Aldrin quote for inspiration.
Microsoft floated idea of buying Zynga, declined because they wanted bigger mobile player
Before Take-Two Interactive bought Zynga for $12.7 billion, Microsoft had its eye on the mobile-maker.
Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer made one thing clear in today's court testimony: Console gaming is not growing. In the hearing, Phil Spencer laid out the rationale behind Microsoft's $68.7 billion merger proposal with Activision, saying that despite his best efforts, the Xbox console business has remained stagnant.
Despite beating Nintendo in games revenues in 2022, things apparently aren't going well for Xbox. In the hearing, Spencer admitted to FTC laywer James Weingarten that Xbox has missed its internal targets. Microsoft's board of directors and senior leadership, including CFO Amy Hood and CEO Satya Nadella, pressure the Xbox unit to continue growing. That's just not happening on console.
Elder Scrolls 6 may not be Xbox exclusive after all, Phil Spencer not ready to commit
The Elder Scrolls VI's release is so far away that Microsoft is not ready to fully commit on Xbox exclusivity.
Bethesda's next Elder Scrolls RPG could also release on PlayStation. Even Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer has no idea when Elder Scrolls 6 will release--it's pretty far out there, and right now Bethesda is full steam ahead on Starfield. TES6 may not launch on Gen9 consoles, and could move to Gen 10, which is expected to begin in 2028.
As part of his recent testimony at the FTC v Microsoft court evidentiary hearing, Phil Spencer cautioned that a decision hasn't been made on The Elder Scrolls 6 skipping PlayStation.
Xbox views PlayStation as a hostile competitor
Xbox Gaming CEO Phil Spencer says that PlayStation is a hostile competitor.
Note: The quotes taken here were transcribed via live audio call and are not wholly representative of what was said, and there are paraphrases.
Microsoft believes that Sony is a hostile competitor due to its myriad of exclusivity deals, which sees Sony buying up platform and timed-exclusivity for big-name games like Final Fantasy and Call of Duty. Spencer says that Sony outright pays developers to skip Xbox, a controversial business practice also referred to as "blocking rights."
Continue reading: Xbox views PlayStation as a hostile competitor (full post)
Xbox Game Pass revenues can be tied directly to player counts, engagement, and popularity
Xbox gaming boss Phil Spencer gives a quick explanation on how developers make money from Xbox Game Pass deals.
Xbox Game Pass can be risky or rewarding depending on many factors. The service can bring negative effects like "cannibalization," which reduces overall premium full game sales as a result of the business model--gamers are less likely to buy a game for full price if they can access it on Game Pass. To help make up for this effect, Microsoft offers specific deals to developers as incentives to bring new content to the value-driven service.
In the recent FTC v Microsoft evidentiary hearing, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer outlines the kinds of revenue deals that developers can take advantage of on Game Pass. When asked specifically about a revenue share split by FTC legal counsel James Weingarden, Spencer replied that Game Pass actually doesn't adhere to the standard 70-30 storefront model because it's a subscription.
Bethesda's Pete Hines explains the merits of platform exclusivity
ZeniMax's Head of Publishing Pete Hines explains why some Bethesda games go exclusive, and highlights the general merits of platform exclusivity that apply to all independently-operated game developers.
Starfield is a full-on Xbox exclusive, but it wasn't always going to be. Microsoft's $7.5 billion buyout of ZeniMax, Bethesda's parent company, changed things. In yesterday's evidentiary hearing in the FTC v Microsoft trial, ZeniMax's Pete Hines revealed key information about exclusivity deals, how such deals benefit ZeniMax, and how the publisher fits into Microsoft's games division.
Hines' testimony first reveals that ZeniMax is a limited-integration company, meaning that ZeniMax's studios--Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Tango Gameworks, ZeniMax Online, Arkane, etc--do not report or answer to Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty. Instead, ZeniMax reports directly to Phil Spencer.
Continue reading: Bethesda's Pete Hines explains the merits of platform exclusivity (full post)