microsoft
Massively OP Podcast Episode 420: The New, Mad World of Warcraft
Justin and Bree discuss Guild Wars 2's content cadence, the Microsoft Activision-Blizzard buyout, Blizzard's messy financials, WoW's 10.1 patch, the end of forums for New World and Lost Ark, the death of a whole class in MapleStory, the messy launch of Mad World, and the surprise return of Fractured, plus adventures in LOTRO and Star Trek Online.
WoW Factor: Dragonflight wasn’t a hit – so now what?
All right, let's be real and acknowledge that the recent Activision-Blizzard earning report did not say outright that World of Warcraft: Dragonflight was an out-and-out...
Block of Activision-Blizzard merger is ‘darkest day’ for Microsoft in the UK, Brad Smith argues
Following the UK's Competition and Markets Authority block of Microsoft's Activision-Blizzard buyout earlier this week - and the rushed dump of the latter's middle...
Activision-Blizzard Q1 2023: ABK revenues are up as Blizzard MAUs fall back down to reality
Activision blinked: Activision-Blizzard wasn't supposed to release its Q1 2023 financials until tomorrow after the bell, but it's just done it this morning out of...
UK regulators block Microsoft’s buyout of Activision-Blizzard
Multiple outlets are reporting this morning that Microsoft's buyout of Activision-Blizzard has been blocked in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority aka CMA...
NetEase is suing Blizzard for 300M CN¥ over licensing agreements [Updated]
We've updated this story at the end as NetEase's name has been removed from the lawsuit. The original article follows.
If you thought the NetEase...
Microsoft president and US intel say Russian operatives are targeting gaming for espionage
Earlier this week, we covered the bizarre but sadly believable news that the military secrets leak every major newspaper is currently focused on may...
Gamer antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft is resubmitted with additional sales data and internal documents
Last month, an antitrust lawsuit filed by gamers against Microsoft was temporarily kicked to the curb, as the judge hearing the case ruled that...
Microsoft welcomes UK governing body’s reassessment of ActiBlizz buyout while Sony cries foul
This is one of those "water is wet" news stories considering the parties involved, but in the interest of continuing to follow the ever-lengthening...
Diablo IV notes 29B monsters slain and 61M hours played during the open beta test
This past weekend was a very obviously busy one for Diablo IV considering it was running an open beta test. That said, those who...
E3 2023 has officially been cancelled
This probably isn't going to come as a surprise to anyone, but it's still a significant announcement. E3 2023 has been cancelled outright according...
Activision-Blizzard and NetEase’s breakup was caused by long-brewing disputes and alleged threats
One of the biggest MMO and gaming stories capping off the end of 2022 and spilling over into the start of 2023 was the...
Japan drops Microsoft/Activision-Blizzard antitrust probe as lawmakers scrutinize Japanese gaming market
Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick released a memo to his staff (and everyone else in the entire world) on the ABK Substack (which exists) last...
UK regulator finds Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard buyout won’t harm competition or Call of Duty on PlayStation
The see-saw ride of findings and statements from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority continues, as the governing body has now put forth an...
Overwatch 2’s director discusses balancing, collabs, rewards, and Season 4 competitive play updates
With six months of work on the team vs. team shooter Overwatch 2 now under his belt, director Aaron Keller is taking a moment...
Activision-Blizzard’s diversity and inclusion goals are out of sync with its corporate action
Activision-Blizzard has released a full-year review of its diversity, equity, and inclusion stats for 2022 this week, and the first thing readers will notice...
Antitrust lawsuit filed by gamers against Microsoft is tossed, but lawyers say they’ll resubmit
During the latter half of December, we reported on an antitrust lawsuit filed by gamers against Microsoft. The suit argued that Microsoft's buyout of...
A Better ABK calls out Blizzard’s end of remote work as ‘wholly unnecessary’ and another union busting tactic
Back in February, Blizzard held a meeting that, among other things, confirmed a mandated return to office work and an end of remote work....
Minecraft console dev studio argues buyout of Activision-Blizzard is ‘a natural evolution of the industry’
Responses to findings by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority to Microsoft's buyout of Activision-Blizzard are continuing to be revealed, following the paranoid scenarios...
Hearthstone strikes up the band and readies concert goodness in April’s Festival of Legends expansion
What happens when you mix a battle of the bands with a digital CCG? We're all going to find out when Hearthstone releases its...
