Tag Archives: blizzard

The last week has been a rollercoaster for the gaming industry, as Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has continued to make headlines. A few weeks ago it was reported that the FTC would sue to block the deal, but then a subsequent report claimed that the panel scrutinising the …

Recently, it was reported that the FTC is considering filing a lawsuit to block Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the days that followed, Microsoft reportedly offered Sony a ten-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation and is planning to make formal concessions in order to get …

Politico previously reported that the EU would enter a phase 2 investigation into the Xbox Activision-Blizzard merger. Now, the site is reporting that the FTC is planning on filing a lawsuit against Microsoft to block the merger.  The FTC has been stricter on anti-trust cases recently. The commission previously filed …

Blizzard has had a long-term partnership with NetEase to allow its games to operate in China. Unfortunately, a dispute between the two companies has come to light, and as a result, their licensing deal will be coming to an end and the majority of Blizzard games will be pulled from …

During October, Blizzard had to make changes to two Overwatch 2 heroes due to bugs, taking Bastion and Torbjorn out of the roster. To kick off November, Mei was disabled due to another bug. While Blizzard planned to bring Mei back this week, the fix has been delayed.  Mei, a …

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 …

We've known for some time that Blizzard is planning to launch Diablo IV in 2023, but exactly when is still a mystery. According to a new leak over the weekend, it'll be much earlier in the year than anticipated.  According to sources speaking with Windows Central, Blizzard is planning to …

Overwatch 2 has been out for roughly one month at this point and we've already seen a couple of heroes disabled in-game due to bugs. Just recently, Bastion finally returned after weeks of being out of the game. unfortunately, now another character is being disabled for a period of time.  …

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 …

Overwatch 2 has had a rough launch to say the least. Multiple issues have come into play over the last 10 days, but still, that hasn’t stopped the sequel from being a massive success.  This week, Blizzard announced that over 25 million players logged into Overwatch since launch. In addition …

Overwatch 2's launch issues have been well-documented at this point. The game's initial days live were hampered by DDOS attacks, connectivity issues and long log-in queues. The past week has seen more issues, forcing some heroes to be taken offline for maintenance, and now, an errant PC bug is causing …

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 …

Overwatch 2 has had its fair share of issues since its launch. Player demand on day one, in addition to a DDOS attack effectively locked thousands of players out of the game for long stretches during the first week. Now, Blizzard has had to take two heroes offline for emergency …

Overwatch 2 did not have the smooth launch that Blizzard was hoping for. A mix of high player numbers and a DDOS attack led to service outages, with many struggling to get into the game. In addition, Overwatch 2 also began requiring a phone number, both for additional security via …

Last night's Overwatch 2 launch did not go as smoothly as Blizzard would have hoped. While we've seen connection issues or long log-in queues with other Blizzard launches, in the case of Overwatch 2, it appears the situation was spurred by a mass DDOS attack.  According to Blizzard President, Mike …

Overwatch is now officially dead, with the original game shutting down for good earlier this week. Later today, it will be replaced by Overwatch 2, which is having a global launch later today. We've gathered all the unlock times for each time zone for those looking to jump into the …

Blizzard has been making good progress with Diablo 4 this year. Not only did we finally get a gameplay trailer back at E3, but the development team has also been posting monthly updates on the game's progress. This month, the company announced the first ‘public' Diablo 4 beta, and the …

Blizzard has made some questionable decisions with Overwatch 2. The sequel will completely replace the original next week, ushering in a new age of battle passes, 5v5 gameplay and character grinding. We already know that players will have to unlock new heroes by levelling the in-game battle pass, but newcomers …

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 …

Blizzard has been making good progress with Diablo 4 this year. Not only did we finally get a gameplay trailer back at E3, but the development team has also been posting monthly updates on the game's progress. In the latest update, Blizzard set out plans for Diablo 4's beta.  We've …

The past weekend has been massive for gaming leaks. First, an hour of pre-alpha Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay leaked online, split across 90 videos showing different portions of the game. Now, almost an hour's worth of Diablo 4 gameplay has found its way onto the web. 

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 …

Overwatch is officially going offline on the 2nd of October and two days later, Overwatch 2 will launch in Early Access. Blizzard had previously confirmed plans to introduce a Battle Pass system with Overwatch 2 and now, we finally have some official details on what that will include.  Unlike the …

Since its original release back in 2016, Overwatch has always been backed by free content updates, giving buyers access to new heroes and maps without the need for additional grinding or expense. That will unfortunately be changing in Overwatch 2 – new heroes will still be free, but you'll have …

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 …

Diablo Immortal is a tricky game to talk about. It offers a lot of freely playable content and succeeds in delivering a quality Diablo experience on the go. However, it is also laden with microtransactions, the worst of which are the game's legendary crests, which are the only way to …

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.