#mojang lawsuit

[book-lord-123]

https://gofund.me/0af3ff98

Mojang lawsuit link. I figured this would be a good place to help spread the news about the lawsuit.

[jolikmc-thoughts]

Alright. Since that Kian Brose guy's funny little lawsuit against Mojang AB seems to be picking up steam, let me just point this out:

Kian's whole argument hinges on the idea that Mojang didn't update their End User License Agreement and Terms of Service before they cracked down on gun game servers and other "adult content". Ironically, he didn't even get an e-mail because his server wasn't up and running at the time. He found this out through a Tweet by TheMisterEpic. Even so, here's the thing…

They didn't have to update their EULA and TOS at that time. All they had to do was inform him and others of the pending updates, which they did.

Straight from the Minecraft EULA from May 2023, before the e-mails were sent, and before the EULA was changed:

We may change this EULA from time to time, if we have reason to, such as changes to our games, our practices, or our legal obligation. But those changes will be effective only to the extent that they can legally apply. For example if you use the Game only in single-player mode and don't use the updates we make available then the old EULA applies but if you do use the updates or use parts of the game that rely on our providing ongoing online services then the new EULA will apply. In that case we'll inform you of the change before it takes effect, either by posting a notice on our Website or by other reasonable means. We're not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the Game and we therefore need to put a lid on it.

With the help of ChatGPT, here are the key phrases from the EULA paragraph above:

“We may change this EULA from time to time” – This allows Mojang to update the EULA as needed.

“if we have reason to, such as changes to our games, our practices, or our legal obligation” – Justifies changes based on various factors like game updates or legal requirements.

“changes will be effective only to the extent that they can legally apply” – Clarifies that changes will only be applied where legally permissible.

“we’ll inform you of the change before it takes effect” – The important one. This indicates that users will be notified before changes are implemented.

“We’re not going to be unfair about this” – Reinforces Mojang’s commitment to fairness when making changes. This one isn't legally relevant, but it's a nice touch.

These phrases support Mojang’s position of transparency and fairness under the law, and it very damaging to Kian's case. So… yeah. He can throw however-many millions of Swedish Krona that he wants at it, but unless Mojang and/or Microsoft decide to just roll over, for whatever reason (probably PR and good will reasons), there's no real way he can win.

Not unless his lawyer is the Swedish equivalent of Johnnie Cochran, anyway…

[rslashrats]

i keep seeing random youtube videos by some minecraft youtubers being recommended to me about someone wanting to sue mojang and i’m sorry but the whole situation seems so fishy to me. i am not really knowledgable in legal affairs but the fundraiser being used to hire legal experts to assess if it can even be done and it being advertised as costs for a lawsuit feels. wrong

[infectiouspiss]

fuck me im so out of the minecraft loop right now that i didn't even know we were bringing a lawsuit against mojang for breaking multiple laws in order to fuck over the minecraft community

[ourpl3d]

Have you use any form of firearm or long range weaponry? If so, what kind?

crossbow (r10x)… bow. uhhhh… gun (closed chamber [bolt action] sniper), & 50 bmg. i trained with those but i haven’t really had a chance to use them. i dont know if guns exist on this server to be entirely honest. they won’t if mojang wins this lawsuit i guess.

[fnord888]

I don't blame Neil Gaiman for doing what the suits tell him to, but whenever I hear about these corporate rules for trying to minimize risk of intellectual property lawsuits I think about how the IP rights to the Minecraft End Poem were handled in connection with the Microsoft buyout of Mojang:

They wanted to not just a written license agreement but a full buyout of any intellectual property rights...until it became clear that the author was going to stand up for himself a little bit and obtaining a license would take some actual negotiation and a little bit of bespoke effort, at which point the lawyers were happy to hang their hat on whatever verbal agreement and/or implied license was formed between a starving writer and an indie game dev five years earlier for an art project that wasn't yet a global sensation (plus, of course, the fact that they had the legal resources of a megacorporation and the possible plaintiff was still a solo writer).

Which is to say, I think a lot of these sorts of rules ultimately have less to do with the actual legal requirements than they do with what is most convenient for corporate legal departments.

[songwolfwildblogs]

I'm gonna say it.

I do not care about the mojang lawsuit.

[sketchehm]

tbh i don't think the part with the discord is like that bc shadoune then wouldn't see the possibility of dnf joining at all. I do think the monjag ban is a possibility tho i also find strange they're not banning sapnap too when he's part of the dteam as much as gnf. The ban would make more sense or for dream alone or for all the dteam but only dnf sounds strange...idk let's see what it is either way at least we have Sapnap and Bad

Hmmm..Well for discord, I imagine they can just scroll through the member list and see who's in the discord. That's where my ideas are based on fir that

For Mojang, I assume they mightve blacklisted George after the gogcident. I don't think they'd ban Sapnap cause they'd have no solid reasoning if that kind of info ever got leaked/revealed cause lawsuits can happen for biased reasonings or such(just spitballing, I doubt something like that would ever happen. Companies just tend to look way ahead like that)

This is all just crackpot theories and stuff! I'm excited to watch Bad and Sapnap too :D!!

[jcmarchi]

The Trials And Tribulations Of An Acquisition: A Look At Microsoft's Journey To Purchase Activision Blizzard

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/the-trials-and-tribulations-of-an-acquisition-a-look-at-microsofts-journey-to-purchase-activision-blizzard/

The Trials And Tribulations Of An Acquisition: A Look At Microsoft's Journey To Purchase Activision Blizzard

Introduction

Xbox’s first-party studio lineup in 2017 consisted of five studios and a publishing arm: Rare, Turn 10, 343 Industries, The Coalition, Mojang Studios, and Xbox Game Studios Publishing. Today, six years later, Microsoft owns more than 50 studios, thanks to various acquisitions over the years.

Microsoft announced in January of 2022 that it was acquiring Call of Duty and Diablo maker Activision Blizzard for a colossal $68.7 billion, the largest video game acquisition ever. After nearly two years of Stateside court cases with the federal government, appeals and appeasements across the pond, unprecedented document leaks, direct arguments from rivals like PlayStation, and more, the deal is complete: Xbox is home to all 19 of Activision Blizzard’s studios (and King’s 11 mobile game development studios as well, since Activision Blizzard purchased the company in 2016).

Grand Ambition

Grand Ambition

Following the official announcement of the acquisition, lawyers and analysts were quick to bring up the U.S. Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against Microsoft in 1999, in which the regulatory agency argued that Microsoft was monopolizing the PC home market with its proprietary software and technology restrictions. Microsoft lost that case, with a judge ruling it violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. But an appeals court overturned it, and Microsoft and the FTC settled, which Lee Law founding partner Michael Lee says is typical.

“Ninety-nine percent of all these things get resolved by a settlement, but I think once you have a history of anti-competitive behavior – I don’t think it’s vengeance – but I definitely think there is more scrutiny placed on companies that did it once that might want to control the market in other areas,” Lee, otherwise known as GeekAttorney online, tells me.

Roughly two and a half months after the initial acquisition announcement, four U.S. senators wrote a letter to the FTC asking them to challenge the acquisition, citing general tech consolidation concerns and how this acquisition might allow Activision Blizzard to sweep under the rug a litany of accusations including discrimination, sexual misconduct, and more. Lee says this wasn’t surprising, nor out of turn for senators, noting, however, that the FTC is independent of the U.S. Senate.

The FTC announced last December it is suing Microsoft over anti-trust practices and monopolization concerns.

“The [FTC] is seeking to block technology giant Microsoft Corp. from acquiring leading video game developer Activision Blizzard, Inc. and its blockbuster gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, alleging that the $69 billion deal, Microsoft’s largest ever and the biggest ever in the video gaming industry, would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business,” the FTC wrote in its announcement.

While that December 2022 lawsuit was set for the FTC’s in-house court, the agency also filed a separate case in a California court in an attempt to achieve preliminary injunction because “Microsoft and Activision have represented that they may consummate” the deal, according to court filings.

Lee says preliminary injunctions, when granted, pause a company’s plans or actions. These injunctions are requested when whatever is on hand presents an immediate threat or harm. If a company were sending out a product that harmed people, someone suing would likely request a preliminary injunction so that the courts could quickly tell the company to stop sending out the harmful product until the lawsuit is complete. As for why, Lee says court cases take months, years sometimes – if harm or threat is involved, waiting a year is not in the interest of those worried about the potential for damage.

A Messy Day in Court

A Messy Day in Court

As a result of the FTC’s lawsuit, various bigwigs, from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and Xbox corporate vice president Sarah Bond, testified in court. Across days of testimony, we learned a lot.

Bond claimed Activision demanded a larger revenue share to put Call of Duty on Xbox leading up to the series’ 2020 release. Bethesda’s now-former head of publishing, Pete Hines, revealed that Wolfenstein developer Machine Games’ Indiana Jones will skip PlayStation 5. In a prerecorded deposition from PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, who recently announced he’s leaving the company, he said Xbox Game Pass is “value destructive” to publishers. Ryan and PlayStation were among the most vocal opponents of the acquisition, for obvious reasons, during court proceedings.

And that’s just a tiny chunk of what we learned during this court case. California judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction on July 11, and the agency quickly appealed. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied it.

These court cases later bit Microsoft in the butt, even if it achieved the desired outcome. Months after the court cases, in September of this year, more than 250 private documents leaked, including emails between top Xbox executives, after a clerical mistake by someone at Microsoft. From these leaks, we learned Xbox is planning its next-gen hybrid cloud console for 2028, that Bethesda might be planning to remaster Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, that the Xbox Series X might be getting a refresh with a new controller in 2024, and that at one point, Spencer considered acquiring Nintendo and Warner Bros. Games. Microsoft corrected course, but the damage was done.

“It is hard to see our team’s work shared in this way because so much has changed and there’s so much to be excited about right now, and in the future,” Spencer shared on X, formerly Twitter, after the leaks. “We will share the real plans when we are ready.”

Concerns From Across the Pond

Concerns From Across the Pond

With the appeal denied, Microsoft was clear to close in the States. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority prevented Microsoft from closing the deal with the U.K. market intact. The CMA announced its investigation into the acquisition on July 6, 2022.

“Would I say these organizations affect each other? I don’t see how they can’t,” Lee tells me when asked if the CMA’s decision to get involved might have been influenced by the FTC’s concerns. “If all these other agencies around the world are looking into some anti-competitive behavior, it would only be natural for [the CMA] to look at it. Do they have conversations on the record? Probably not, but off the record […] discussions happen.”

Lee says Microsoft could have technically closed the deal without the CMA’s greenlight, but it would have had to carve Activision Blizzard games out of its U.K. market proceedings; you don’t spend $69 billion to remove a market from your new purchase’s potential. Set to appear in court on July 28 of this year to appeal the CMA’s initial April 2023 block, Microsoft instead paused its appeal on July 11 to negotiate with the agency.

That led to a new deal, submitted on August 22, that proposed Ubisoft get the rights to Activision Blizzard game streaming for 15 years in the U.K. market. A month later, the CMA granted Microsoft preliminary approval. On October 13, the CMA approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. But it was clear the CMA was less than thrilled with how Microsoft handled itself during the process.

“[Businesses] and advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA. Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn’t work,” CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell wrote in the agency’s approval. “Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money.”

Closing the Deal

Closing the Deal

Hours after the CMA’s October 13 approval, Microsoft announced it had officially acquired Activision Blizzard.

It did so with the corporate pomp and circumstance you’d expect: an “Activision Blizzard King Joins Xbox Official Trailer” with a tone that’d have you thinking Microsoft just saved the world, a promise to deliver new worlds and stories, and Spencer’s often repeated sentiment of bringing more games to more players in more places. Controversial Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick revealed he was staying with the company through 2023, at the request of Spencer, to help with the transition, before a multi-million-dollar golden parachute likely sends him on his way in 2024. The official Activision Blizzard Twitter account said the company will begin adding its games to Game Pass “sometime in the course of the next year.”

October 13 was a big win for Xbox and its community and an even bigger win for Microsoft. After nearly two years of hurdles, court cases, document leaks, and more, it had finally completed the acquisition.

“We thought it would go through,” Lee says when I ask if he and his law peers expected the deal to pass. “We’ve seen bigger mergers go through [outside of games]. It just needed to overcome the hurdles to make everyone happy.”

As for what’s next, Lee expects Microsoft to cool down on multi-billion-dollar acquisitions.

“When there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Lee says. “If they went ahead and tried to do any multi-billion mergers, people would look into it further and say, ‘We were right.’ But this is their model. [Acquisitions] like this occur maybe once a decade […], so I do think there will be a cooldown but not a slowdown of their initial business plan which says, ‘If there’s another company doing it right and doing it better than we can, let’s acquire them and bring their knowledge in house.’

“But maybe instead of Microsoft purchasing it, it’s Blizzard purchasing it now.”

This article originally appeared in Issue 361 of Game Informer

[practicalsolutions]

Rip anarchy Java minecraft servers. Microsoft is introducing a reporting system for moderating chat and it includes profanity. After the next update, if implemented, people can literally be banned from minecraft multiplayer ENTIRELY for as little as saying 'shit' and someone reporting you for it.

The 'no swearing in my Christian minecraft server' meme is becoming real.

[terrascookiejar-archive]

What about other official discords? I know Minecraft and New horizons has one. How come they are better handling it than CR despite with possible more massive fan base?

Well I’m not 100% sure. But I have a feeling those discords being ran by official sources managed to have a plan and keep things organized from the start. They probably had a strict process for choosing moderators, or hired their own moderation team whose job it is to keep things in line. Multiple people combing multiple channels and being there to hear things out when things go wrong.

The thing is, Cookie Run Official Discord didn’t start like this.

It’s a well known fact that the Discord was started without anyone on the Devsis Team really fully understanding discord. Originally there were NO moderators at all, aside from these “test mods” that seemed to be floating around, and it was essentially like a wild west where Dev Sis kind of assumed they’d just, figure it out over time? There’s no clear cut rules, they’re constantly changing. There’s no consistent moderation. They are in and out. So that means there’s no communication, so when Moderators come in that DO promise and try to change things, they very quickly realize that they aren’t getting the help they need higher up the ladder and yet are somehow expected to just keep things in check with a vague and broken system that DevSis assumed could build itself.  So often times those good mods leave in frustration, because like a bad job with poor communication you can only handle so much of that. In the end they bit off way more than they could ever hope to chew and... yet still kinda ignore/assume the issues will solve itself and they’ll just... figure it out later?

I know it’s not entirely Devsis and MicMac’s faults. But considering how MicMac responded kind of half-heartedly to CookieRunUpdate’s very blatant harassment by a past moderator... it gives off the impression that they don’t really care that their Discord is a shit show and would rather just ignore the issue until it “resolves itself”

Either because they don’t care/want money, or they don’t have the capacity to handle any of it.

That might not be their intent but that’s completely how they come off.

Edit: Additionally with Minecraft and New Horizons. THOSE companies, Mojang/Microsoft and Nintendo, is that they have a strong company base in the United States and Canada. And if something were to go wrong there they could very easily be sued there. So there’s a stronger pull for preventing things from happening to the best of their ability. 

Litigation is always a threat when it comes to america  as a continent, and even if it’s conjecture it’ll be a messy prospect to deal with any kind of lawsuit so they’d rather avoid it at all costs by properly staffing their forums with reliable moderators, having a system and rules clearly displayed, and taking proper courses of action legally to handle things as needed.

The thing with Cookie Run and DevSis? They’re based in South Korea. I don’t know Korean Laws! I’m assuming most of my english-speaking followers don’t either. 

The only time Devsis really took action over anything was when there was an uproar caused by the publisher of the comics for adding a Cookie Hitler to the plot of Adventure Masterpiece. I’m assuming only because it would cause a significant uproar in Korea- (For those who don’t know, Korea used to be the victim of fascist and abusive dictatorship when Japan had control of the country years and years ago. Plus considering the current state of North Korea, they generally aren’t exactly ones who take too kindly to any depiction of fascism in any facet, even if they are the villain.)

Since MicMac had to give a public statement about how this was not something under his control since the Publisher writes and makes the comics and they only license the Cookie Run brand name out to them. Subsequently the Publisher had to pull the issue and stop running it, so even though it’s still listed in korean online storefronts it’s limited and not in print. 

Yet that’s the thing. The Cookie Run Official Discord is run most mostly the Western Fanbase as far as I can tell, and if someone wanted to sue DevSisters for maybe putting their children in danger... well that would be harder than filing a lawsuit against Microsoft or Nintendo.

There’s no Devsisters of America. or Canada. They’re all based in Korea. So they probably have the safety net of knowing that if anyone outside the country could even have a chance of filing a lawsuit perhaps due to the Pedophilia issue, they’d have to be exceptionally powerful. Like Someone with a lot of power and legal prowess. 

The fact of the matter is, DevSisters ignored the Burning Sun issue, DevSisters ignores the harassment their fans inflict on each other on a regular basis, DevSisters will ignore pedophilic behavior because they either don’t want to deal with it or don’t have to worry about facing consequences.

You need to remember DevSisters is not a small indie group making video games as a passion project, DevSisters is a CORPORATION. Corporations aren’t your friends. They aren’t here to protect you. They aren’t looking out for you. Their only job is to make money and at the end of the day unless something threatens that, they aren’t going to do anything about it.

[jolikmc-thoughts]

Suing Minecraft Because They Broke The Law & Pissed Me Off by Kian Brose on YouTube

So, I just took notice that this random YouTuber I've never heard of scammed about 4,000 idiots out of about $100,000.00 USD and is continuing to scam anyone stupid enough to give him money.

This scam is under the pretense of trying to sue a multi-billion dollar company, owned by a multi-trillion dollar company, all because they indirectly squashed his dreams of making a pay-to-win Minecraft gun server based on someone else's old intellectual property.

And they did this over a year ago, mind you, with their Sneaky Pete "invisible" EULA update that took months to actually appear somewhere.

Yeah, good luck with that.

And just for kicks and giggles, here's the comment I left on this nudnik's video which will undoubtedly be deleted by the time this post hits Tumblr:

I'll be honest with you, Chief. I went into this video, already rolling my eyes and thinking to myself "What sort of idiotic case is this guy supposedly suing Mojang over? "After watching the video, I was behind you. You had me. And then… You absolutely, 100% lost me by begging for money to attempt and fail to fight Mojang in the court of law. It's their game and they can do what they want with it, just like you can do whatever you want with your copy. When you start getting money involved, though, then there's an issue. And since you spent money and took donations for this server project of yours, you pretty much have no leg to stand on. But, hey. Prove me wrong. Make headlines. Spend that million krona wisely. Change the world like the -influencer- hero you are. Or, more likely, pull a Keiji Inafune, overshoot, go bankrupt repeatedly and run multiple crowdfunding scams, then dwindle in obscurity as your dreams burn to the ground and you lose your place in history, your legacy, and the respect of your peers, fans, donors, and hangers-on. It'll be entertaining either way. (;

[askagamedev]

Lightning Mailbag #6: Plate Mail

It’s lightning mailbag time! Whenever I do one of these, it’s a bunch of questions with short answers!

What ever happened to extreme sports titles? Used to be that skateboarding, snowboarding, even some biking and surfing games were popular and ubiquitous. But now there's only just a couple titles in each sub-genre hanging on. What do you think happened?

The same thing that happened to fighting games, JRPGs, RTS games, MMOGs, and rhythm games. Players stopped buying them so much as they found other new things to play. These genres still have their fans and niche, but lack the growth potential that attracts big investment from publishers.

I found an article addressing various lawsuits that Bethsesda has filed over the years. Even though I understand the reason of a lawsuit in a situation like with Fallout Shelter and Westworld, I don't understand why a company of that magnitude would file a lawsuit over a single word in a title, e.g Mojang's Scrolls and CaptainSparklez's Fortress Fallout. Why do big companies to go to such extent for, what seems like, a petty reason? 

Most intellectual property rules are “protect it or lose it”. It’s better for them to be overzealous in their protection than accidentally let a precedent pass, because setting a legal precedent means that others would be able to do the same thing while being overzealous just costs them a little bit of community good will.

In regards to the hypothetical "Disney's steps to a new developer" and the follow up that came after. Do studios outside of the exclusivity contracts put work into a pitch for the licences before the contact ends, and before licensing/legal are talking with the IP holders?

Yes to pitching before the contract ends, (generally) no to pitching before licensing is willing to talk to new people. Any licensor wants any transition to be as seamless as possible because they don’t want their revenue stream interrupted.

If Disney was to transition the license exclusivity deal to another publisher, would they make a special exception case of The Old Republic or other ganes-as-a-service products, or would those likely shut down/stop receiving new content?

If they wanted to continue with SWTOR, Galaxy of Heroes, etc. they’d have to negotiate a new contract with EA to set terms.

What would be considered damage to the brand critical? Sounds like it would have been something to that effect after the Battlefront 2 controversy (and its poor sales).

It’s a cost-benefit analysis. First, the cost of making the transition:

Losing all of the continued and future revenue from EA’s current Star Wars games (BF1, BF2, SWTOR, Galaxy of Heroes, KOTOR, Respawn’s upcoming Star Wars game, anything else in development)

Legal and business costs of finding a new licensee

Time spent waiting for the new licensee to put out a new Star Wars game

Then the benefits:

Maybe the new publisher eventually produces a game that earns better than EA did

Critical damage is generally difficult to achieve. It’d have to be something that not only killed any profitability from the games, but also negatively affects their other product performance as well. It’s like ABC cancelling Roseanne’s TV show - she did critical, irredeemable damage to the brand so they had to cut ties. As bad as BF2′s initial reception was, it wasn’t that kind of critical damage.

Why are a lot of studios located in the most expensive cities to live in in (i.e San Fransico, London, etc.) ?

Unless it’s built by a huge publisher looking to establish a foothold somewhere, a game studio tends to go where the talent is. Major metropolitan areas tend to have a good population of tech labor and that’s critical to game development.

Are you still crunching at work? Feels like forever since the last FANTa project update.

It’s been super hectic recently. I’ve got some new stuff for FANTa in progress, but it’s still not yet ready for prime time. 

The FANTa Project is currently on hiatus while I am crunching at work.

[What is the FANTa project?] [Git the FANTa Project]

Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr

Frequent questions: The FAQ

[wiumgtmktg]

History or Misery, Only Time Will Tell for $68 Billion Microsoft Deal

Mike Hunger, Business Management Major

In the early hours of January 18th, it was made official that Microsoft will acquire “Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion” making it the most expensive gaming acquisition in history, and making Microsoft one of the “big 3” in gaming - only comparable to Sony and Tencent games. (Microsoft News Center) But, US lawmakers are raising a few eyebrows at this monopoly-esque acquisition before this deal passes go. The fate of gaming, antitrust laws, and nearly 10,000 worldwide employees are sure to see some changes in the near future.

What is Microsoft buying for that much money you might ask? Activision Blizzard INC. is a prolific video game company out of Santa Monica, California with quite the reputation. The company is responsible for some of the most recognizable and profitable video games to date, including Call Of Duty, Candy Crush, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft, just to name a few. These games have brought in insane amounts of money, with Activision Blizzard claiming over $2 Billion in net Revenues in Quarter 3 of 2021 alone! (Activision Q3 earnings press release) However, contrary to popular belief, not all is sunshine and happy days in Santa Monica. Activision Blizzard has come under fire in recent history for a hostile work environment that for all intents and purposes, treated women in the workplace as second class employees and fostered a less than desirable job space.

A multitude of sexual harassment claims from both male and female employees, hazing like activities, neglect of job duties, and even an employee suicide has occurred while on a business trip with an executive in the company. However, after a lawsuit was filed and alongside this merger, “37 individuals” from both the management and employee side of the company have lost their jobs, coupled with 44 additional employees being reprimanded for their actions or neglect. (Partis, Danielle) So, with many large holes in Activision Blizzard’s roster, it is believed that this has contributed to the decision of the merger. With that being said, many are optimistic that the change in leadership will be beneficial, for both employees and the quality of the games being produced, an overall win for the gaming industry and community.

While on the topic of the gaming industry, Microsoft’s contribution and their soon to be reign over the field has huge implications for both casual and avid gamers. Before the historic acquisition of Blizzard Activision INC, Microsoft wasn’t exactly hurting for partnerships and games under their production with big names such as EA and Mojang already under Microsoft’s wing. With Microsoft’s approach to online gaming, a monthly fee is assessed for the ability to access a library of games, ranging from the Halo Series, Assassin's Creed, DOOM Franchise, Batman, Minecraft, and Forza. The option still stands to buy individual games for one flat price, but with Microsoft producing Xbox Consoles and Desktop gaming computer software, many of these games being “console exclusive” meaning a microsoft product was the only way you can play that game. With this concept in mind many are concerned about the fate of their favorite Blizzard Activision games, Call of Duty being the main focus, as that franchise holds the top 2 selling video games in 2021 according to VentureBeat (Not even including Xbox Digital Sales). This franchise alone trading hands would cause many heads to turn, but along with 11 gaming studios under the Blizzard Activision INC umbrella, this has many US Lawmakers taking a closer look at the implications of this titanic transaction.

As monumental a deal as this is, it is in the wake of another monster merger, “the consolidation of Hollywood” being the $70 B deal just recently closed by Disney in acquiring Fox and its assets. While looking at the two on paper, these are fairly similar in size, notoriety, and price tag. Many big name shows, movies and sporting events are offered in a package deal by Disney, similar to Microsoft’s “Game Pass” for their mobile, Xbox, and PC products, however, the upside potential is far higher for Microsoft. Undoubtedly, a large percentage of the world’s population will continue to love animated shows, superhero movies, and HD sporting events for the rest of human existence, but the forecasted growth of gaming is exponential to say the least, Microsoft has reported approximated “3 Billion Gamers” globally today, with an expected increase to “4.5 Billion by 2030”, talk about a target audience! (Kafka, Peter) So, the question is will the deal pass go or will it go directly to jail?

An acquisition of this size and implication doesn’t exactly have a “buy now with one click” option, as it is being scrutinized by lawmakers and political advocates in the wake of successful strides in antitrust battles with Facebook, a similar mogul in their respective field. Microsoft does have some decent retorts to these antitrust claims rooted in the expansion of their competition by venturing into mobile games, however, it is ultimately not up to them and Microsoft stands to lose a considerable amount if the deal falls through. A $3 Billion “break-up” fee will be paid out to Activision Blizzard from Microsoft if the deal is shot down, but this is a drop in a bucket to the likes of Microsoft, but the almost insult to injury fee coupled with the missed opportunity of owning some of gaming’s biggest franchises puts pressure on Microsoft and their supporters. A swing to one side or the other in Facebook’s case can set precedent on how Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be handled, but for the time being, no one is 100% sure about the direction this merger will take.

So, we come full circle. The ups and downs of Activision Blizzard and the manifest destiny attitude of Microsoft have met and produced the situation that stands in front of us today. The uncertainty of this deal alongside the unpredictable impact on the future of the gaming industry proves to be quite the hot topic. Avid Microsoft gamers and laissez faire economists alike would advocate for the merger going through, but individuals who grew up on Nintendo or Sony produced consoles and individuals who prefer a diversified economy will side against the merger. Many people stand to benefit from this deal and there are many individuals who, if this deal goes through, could be worse for wear. Personally, I grew up with an Xbox and have stuck with Microsoft's products all these years, so the merger could benefit me substantially.

In conclusion, there are many factors in play for this historic tech merger. Many individuals will be affected by this decision either way, and your mom might just start seeing Xbox ads in between Candy Crush levels. While no company has a perfect track record, the accomplishments of both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are highly impressive from a business standpoint. From a gamer’s perspective, it can be like a highway only letting Ford cars drive on it, causing Kia and Toyota owners to either jump ship to Ford or take a different route. This decision will surely be one for the books, influencing the actions of the other “players” in the tech game and will probably take way longer than you thought it would, just like Monopoly.