Tag Archives: activision

Last month, sources claimed that Infinity Ward is planning a massive expansion for Modern Warfare II sometime after launch. We heard this would include many classic Call of Duty maps for multiplayer and new campaign content. According to an updated report, the new campaign content will be developed by Sledgehammer …

Blizzard made the controversial choice last month to depreciate the original Overwatch, completely replacing it with the free-to-play Overwatch 2. While opinions on the game itself remain mixed, Overwatch 2 has had an impressive first month commercially, with more than 35 million players flocking to the game. As part of …

Here in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority has entered a Phase 2 investigation of Microsoft's planned Activision Blizzard acquisition. Soon, the deal will undergo more scrutiny, this time from the EU, which also plans to enter a phase 2 investigation.  Similarly to the CMA, one of the EU's …

Over the past few days, we have seen a number of sales figures released for Call of Duty Modern Warfare II, with the game breaking concurrent user records on Steam as well as being the fastest-selling Call of Duty on the PlayStation Store. Now, Activision themselves have revealed that Call …

After a successful beta, Infinity Ward has been working on further improving the now available multiplayer mode for Call of Duty Modern Warfare II. The developer has considered the community's feedback, leading to changes in various game systems, including UI, matchmaking, sound, and gameplay.   The patch brings many improvements over …

If Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal does go through in 2023, many of us were expecting to see Call of Duty heading straight to Xbox Game Pass. However, it may take a little longer for the flagship franchise to hit Microsoft's gaming subscription service.  Microsoft is facing an unexpected level of …

We've seen a number of companies comment on Microsoft's pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard in recent months. The loudest voice in the room has been Sony, but we've also seen quotes from companies like Ubisoft, WB, Riot and others. Recently in an interview, Take-Two CEO, Stauss Zelnick, added his take …

Each year, ahead of the game’s proper release, Activision hosts a beta period for that year’s Call of Duty, giving fans early insight into the maps, guns, mechanics and more coming with the upcoming FPS. The beta period for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has ended, with the publisher …

In recent weeks, PlayStation head, Jim Ryan, has made several statements in an effort to sway regulators against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, claiming the deal would have “major negative implications” for the entire games industry. Now, Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, is getting involved with one simple message – “if …

The past few weeks has seen Microsoft’s desired acquisition of Activision Blizzard come into scrutiny, with Call of Duty being placed at the centre of it. In the wake of this, EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson has commented on the matter, claiming that Battlefield will take this opportunity to try and …

The past few weeks has seen the heat turned up when it comes to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and whether the move is in fact anti-competitive. Amidst all this, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has remained resolute, stating that the console manufacturer will continue to acquire more studios. In …

In recent weeks, Sony has begun taking the offensive by publicly campaigning against Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We've seen Sony lay out its argument against the deal before in regulatory filings, but now, Jim Ryan has been giving juicy quotes to the press, branding Microsoft's post-merger Call of …

Microsoft’s intention to purchase Activision Blizzard for $70 Billion came as a surprise to many when it was first announced earlier this year. Since then, the situation surrounding the publisher’s biggest multi-platform franchises have been in flux – especially Call of Duty. While we do know current deals set in …

We've all assumed that Activision Blizzard games will come to Xbox Game Pass some time after Microsoft completes its acquisition of the company. Today in response to questions around the deal, Xbox head, Phil Spencer, confirmed exactly that.  In a lengthy blog post intended to reassure regulators, gamers and developers, …

In response to news that the UK CMA is moving onto phase two of its investigation into Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has published a new blog post further detailing its plans for the company post-merger. In short, Microsoft is now more firmly committing to keeping Activision Blizzard …

We learned a while ago that the UK authorities had begun their investigation into Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard and after gathering preliminary information, they have come to the decision that Microsoft owning the publisher could impact competition in the market. Now, the CMA will move into phase two …

Just over a week ago, we learned the official opinions of Sony, Ubisoft, WB, Riot and other companies regarding Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Sony naturally had a lot to say and was particularly concerned with Microsoft's growing hold on the subscription market with Game Pass. Now, Microsoft has had a chance to respond, calling Sony for buying 'blocking rights' to keep certain games off of Xbox. 

A couple of years ago following Diablo Immortal's BlizzCon reveal, we learned that Blizzard was also working on a number of other mobile games, several of which were set in the Warcraft universe. This year, one of these games was officially announced, but Blizzard seems to be scrapping two other …

We're over six months on from Microsoft announcing plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, kicking off the lengthy process of gaining approvals from anti-trust organisations across the world. Most of the time, these investigations are highly secretive, but we do know that they involve seeking opinions from competing companies across the industry. Now thanks to recent filings in Brazil, documents containing these opinions have been posted online, giving us insight into what the likes of Sony, Ubisoft, WB and others think of the deal. 

Earlier this year Activision announced that it would be making a return to Steam after years of absence forcing PC players to use the publisher’s own bespoke launcher. Ahead of Activison’s full return to the platform, the publisher now has an official Steam page. Going to https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Activision will now take …

Back in January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in a deal worth a record-breaking $69 billion. However, the deal is far from done, as Microsoft faces regulatory challenges. This week, another hurdle was placed in the way, as the UK's Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) announced plans to …

Call of Duty is continuing its typical release schedule, with this year’s COD, Modern Warfare II, coming from development studio Infinity Ward. Meanwhile Treyarch are working on their own COD title, which isn’t set to come out until 2024 (due to delays). Despite this, a significant number of assets from COD 2024 somehow found their way into Warzone Mobile, giving us a look at maps, guns and more.

We all know that Activision Blizzard is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft, but that isn't stopping the company from making acquisitions of its own. This week, Blizzard confirmed that it has acquired studio Proletariat, the company behind Spellbreak.  Spellbreak launched back in 2018, offering a new take …

The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise has persisted for decades as one of the best in the genre. The series was revived in 2020 with full remakes of the first two games to great success. Unfortunately, while the team at Vicarious Visions were said to be working on a remake …

Since introducing the Ricochet anti-cheat system, the Call of Duty anti-cheat team has been implementing new ways to mess with bad actors in online matches. Previously, cheaters have been unable deal damage to enemy players, have had their ability to see or hear the enemy removed and now, cheaters are …

The Call of Duty franchise is without a doubt one of the biggest in gaming. Ever since the explosive success of 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the first-person shooter franchise has become the game to beat each year when it comes to sales – with very few other …

Ever since Black Ops 4, new Call of Duty games have been absent from the Steam library, with Activision instead choosing to release the games on Blizzard's Battle.net service instead. Last week, we heard that Call of Duty might finally be returning to Steam this year, and now, Valve may …

We've known for some time now that Activision is working on Warzone 2, a refresh of the Battle Royale game for next-gen consoles and PC. Warzone 2 is expected to debut shortly after the release of Modern Warfare 2 later this year, and work on Warzone 2's second major map …

E3 might not be taking place this year, but there will be plenty of other gaming events stepping up in its place. Geoff Keighley has already announced plans for Summer Game Fest as a replacement for E3 this year, and now, Keighley has revealed the full list of studios and …

Back in January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard as part of the largest merger in video games history. It has been a while since we last had an update on the process, but according to Microsoft's President and Vice Chair, things are moving relatively quickly.  Currently, Microsoft plans …