You get a game studio! You get a game studio!
How Microsoft and Sony's recent studio buying will effect everyone
Christmas is normally the season of giving. As a kid you run into the living room on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought you. You'll tear through wrapping paper, ripping open boxes to discover what cool new toy you got. The best gifts were always video games, and they still are.
The last couple of weeks have seen presents come to console owners in the form of studio acquisitions. Microsoft and Sony have made some big buys and moves that could be great or horrible for the industry. Today I want to take a look at all the things bought, what it means for exclusives and the future of the so-called "console wars."
But first….
ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!
Next weekend (Feb. 12-13) I will be at ATG Expo in Waco, TX! This is my first convention of 2022 and I am excited! The plan is to debut issue 2 of "The Embassy" if it gets here in time. I'll be doing my fan favorite panel on podcasting Saturday from 3-4 in the theater room. If you're in the area come out and say hi!
Chapter 10 of "Midnight Signs" just dropped on Kindle Vella. If you've been following Julie's story this is the chapter after her surgery. I feel like this is the end of our first act and could really be a stopping point if I wanted to wrap things up, but I don't.
Ok, grab your controllers and let's dive in!
It all started on January 18th when Microsoft announced the acquisition of Activision/Blizzard/King. The deal was said to cost almost $69 billion! The deal sent waves around the industry. Sony's stock dropped 13% after the deal came out. What did all that money get them?
Activision makes some of the most popular games on the planet. The latest Crash Bandicoot and Tony Hawk games come from Activision. There's also a little series called Call of Duty that they're behind. With over six million active players C.o.D. is a pillar in the industry. The recent move to focus on online battle royales has proven very lucrative for the company. Estimates say people spent around $4 billion on the game in the last two years.
Back in 2008 a merger between Activision and Vivendi Games caused Blizzard to fall under the Activision umbrella. Blizzard is no stranger to the online nickel and dime market either. With games like StarCraft, World of Warcraft and Overwatch the company has a yearly revenue of over $8 billion.
In 2016 Activision spent $6 billion dollars to buy King. They make Candy Crush. That's really about it, but it is enough. Candy Crush made over $2 billion in 2020. That's a lot of extra hearts and power ups.
So what does this mean for gamers, both Xbox and Playstation? It's an interesting move. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, has released some good news. As of now he plans on keeping the games on all platforms. It makes sense because you'd be losing half your revenue if you pulled it from Sony. He also said he wanted to bring back some of the older franchises we all loved. He specifically mentioned King's Quest, Hexen and Guitar Hero! Having the Microsoft money behind them will definitely let these studios grow.
Not to be outdone, Sony made a big purchase too. A few days after Microsoft's big announcement Sony stated that they were buying Bungie for $3.6 billion. If you don't know, Bungie is the studio behind Destiny and the original HALO games. Yeah, Microsoft used to own them. Sony has claimed they will honor all agreements Bungie had and keep the games multiplatform too.
My Xbox bias aside, this seemed like a weird purchase. It's kinda like when your high school rival starts dating your ex. I think, I didn't have a rival or a girlfriend in high school. It might have something to do with these developers.
If everyone is claiming to keep things the same, keep games on both platforms, what will really change? I think launches and timed exclusives will become more prevalent. We saw it before the studios were owned so it makes sense it would keep going or even increase. Maps dropping on one system before the other, skins limited to just Xbox, these are all very real possibilities.
Something I fear is that this is setting up a Cold War scenario in gaming. Just like America and Russia stocked up on nuclear weapons for most of the 20th century, these companies are stocking up on developers. They are playing nice and keeping everything open to everyone but all it takes is one small move and exclusivity missiles could start falling.
The ball is really in Sony's court. The buying of Microsoft's ex-studio seems a bit like a petty retaliation but I could be wrong. I'm not saying it makes them look desperate, but…. If they were to pull the trigger and make Bungie titles exclusive then Microsoft would seem justified to do the same with their titles. If Microsoft goes exclusive first it makes them out to be the bully and would make Sony the victim. I really think Phil and co. know that and are trying to play nice.
There's still some major players on the board as well. It has long been rumored that Microsoft plans to buy Sega to increase their hold in the Asian market. I would love for this to happen. Bring back the crazy games like Seaman, Space Chanel 5, Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxi and Chu Chu Rocket. Probably never happen, but I can dream(cast), right?
One of the other big names out there is Ubisoft. They are behind some of my current favorite franchises; Far Cry, Watch Dogs, HyperScape, Child of Light and Assassin's Creed. When it was leaked that Microsoft was making a big purchase everyone thought it would be Ubisoft. Some of their games recently came to Game Pass on PC but sadly that's where it ended.
The last people I want to talk about are Nintendo. The one that started it all has came out and said they have no plans to buy any studios, and I'm ok with that. The battle between Xbox and Playstation has always been about exclusives. People (wrongfully) claim that Xbox doesn't have any games, a problem this acquisition will easily fix. Nintendo has never had that problem. With Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and more they don't need anyone else to make games for them.
With all of that being said, I don't see the status quo changing a lot. Both studios have their finger on a big red button but nobody will push it.
That does it for this week, I'm going to go watch "Thirteen Days" because that's what the whole thing reminds me of. Let me know what games you're looking forward to in the comments below!
Until next time,
Lance
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