Latest news with #BobbyKotick
Fast Company
23-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
FTC drops final challenge to Microsoft's $69B Activision Blizzard deal
Three years after suing to block Microsoft from buying one of the biggest names in video games, the U.S. government is finally giving up. The FTC announced plans Thursday to drop a Biden-era case against Microsoft over its $69 billion acquisition of game maker Activision Blizzard, a decision the regulator said now best serves the public interest. In 2022, the FTC first announced that it would try to kill Microsoft's planned acquisition of the gaming giant, which makes hit games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. The following year, after the FTC failed to secure a preliminary injunction to stop it, Microsoft actually finalized the massive deal, but the regulator vowed to continue appealing that decision. Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's order denying the injunction, ruling that the FTC's claims that the deal would limit competition in the gaming industry were weak. The acquisition was destined for intense scrutiny from day one, both for its size and its potential to totally reshape the landscape for one of tech's hottest sectors. Microsoft swooped in to save Activision Blizzard from itself When Microsoft announced its plan to buy Activision Blizzard in January 2022, the smaller company had been rocked by emerging allegations of systemic sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Those ongoing scandals eventually forced longtime CEO Bobby Kotick out of the company as Microsoft cleaned house leading into the merger. Microsoft also had to clear major regulatory hurdles in the U.K., resolving antitrust concerns there over its cloud gaming services before getting the green light to close the deal. That bit of regulatory maneuvering resulted in an unusual arrangement to offload cloud streaming rights for its games to competitor Ubisoft in order to appease the Competition and Markets Authority, the U.K.'s powerful trust buster. (This portion of the deal isn't great news for anyone who's wrestled with Ubisoft's awkward online gaming service over the years.) A boost to Microsoft's online gaming roadmap By bringing Activision Blizzard under its wing, Microsoft can also bring the company's many hit titles into the popular Xbox Game Pass service, which gives players unlimited access to games for a monthly subscription fee. Gaming companies have increasingly turned to monthly subscriptions and live service games over the last decade and many of Activision Blizzard's hit franchises revolve around online multiplayer, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo and World of Warcraft. Activision Blizzard also owns Candy Crush, a colorful tile-matching game that's still synonymous with mobile gaming almost a decade after Activision Blizzard bought its developer King for a then whopping $5.9 billion. Microsoft President Brad Smith described his company as 'grateful' to the FTC for its decision to allow the acquisition to settle. 'Today's decision is a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, D.C.,' Smith said.
Business Mayor
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
It's parry season
If you like games with parrying, there are two great new ways to get your fix: Doom: The Dark Ages and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 . These very different games — one is a fast-paced first-person shooter, the other a turn-based fantasy RPG — approach the mechanic in very different ways. Let's start with Doom . One of the big new additions to the game is a giant shield for the Doom Slayer, and you can use it to block projectiles or enemy attacks. The game helpfully signals anything that you can parry in a bright neon green that's easy to see as you're rushing around and destroying hordes of demons. When a green projectile gets within range or an enemy does a green attack, you can press the parry button at the right time to deflect the danger with a huge reverberation of your shield and an action-movie-like moment of slow motion. Like most of modern Doom 's action, it all looks, feels, and sounds very satisfying. But parries are also critical for fights, as they can open up an opportunity to hit the enemy with a punch or a few shots from whatever monstrous gun you're wielding. Stay keen for something green In intense battles, I'm always hunting for green glints to find things to parry to potentially gain an advantage. When an enemy shoots a spread of bullets with some green interspersed, I'll even run toward the danger to get in a good deflection. Some weapon upgrades have perks tied to parries, too, giving you many incentives to stay keen for something green. Read More Bobby Kotick to depart Activision before the end of the month Doom , very helpfully, has a setting that lets you change the timing for the parry window whenever you want. I have no shame in admitting that I've occasionally made the parry window as wide as the game allows; yes, it lowers the difficulty, but I like parrying every chance I can. Image: Kepler Interactive Expedition 33 's parrying system is just as thrilling and impactful, but shifts from fast-paced action to turn-based battles. When it's an enemy's turn in a battle, they'll often wind up their giant swords, axes, or fists for flashy, multistep attack combos, and you can parry each hit if you time things right. Every successful parry regains one AP, which you'll spend during your turn to use skills. More powerful skills typically have higher AP costs, so the more blows you parry, the better equipped you'll be on your next turn. Parry all of an enemy's attacks on their turn and you'll do a counter (which also has an action-movie-like slow-motion effect) that can be a very helpful way to chip away at a health bar. That's not easy, though: Expedition 33 's gives you a very tight window to press the parry button in time to block a hit, and if you miss the window, you'll take some damage. Missing multiple parries on a single turn might drain your health bar from full to empty, and given how tricky the game's enemies can get with staggering their hits or faking you out, that will probably happen often. The game lets you dodge enemy attacks, which has a much wider timing window, but you don't gain AP and you won't get a chance to counter. I found myself leaning toward parries far more than dodges: despite the risks, landing a successful series of parries, especially in a high-stakes battle, was usually worth the trial and error because of how cool it looked and how much it helped in a fight. I do wish Expedition 33 had a setting to adjust the parrying windows just slightly (and if you're on PC, there's a mod that can help with that). But I also get why the timing is so tough: the rewards are high, but so are the costs. Parrying can be a divisive mechanic, especially when it's challenging. That's why people bounce off of games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Nine Sols . But Doom and Expedition 33 both offer new and interesting takes on the idea that show just how rewarding a good parry can be.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former Activision Boss Bobby Kotick Wants To Buy Tiktok: Report
TikTok is in an exceptionally tough spot these days. Despite everyone you know using it for hours on end, the video-sharing app is currently facing legislation that would force its ban in the U.S pending a potential sale, and prospective buyers are lining up. One of these potential buyers is reportedly Bobby Kotick, the former boss of Activision Blizzard, according to the Wall Street Journal. TikTok has been scrutinized for years by U.S. lawmakers who have argued that its China-based parent company ByteDance may share data it collects with the Chinese government, or that the app could serve as a propaganda delivery tool. Despite tensions ramping up some time ago, leading many to believe that the app would be banned in the U.S., matters had seemingly cooled until a bill was pushed through the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week, ratcheting up the pressure on ByteDance. The bill is expected to be reviewed and approved by the House of Representatives this week before being sent to the Senate, and President Joe Biden has already claimed he would sign off on a ban if the bill made it through legislation. The bill requires that ByteDance 'divest itself' of TikTok or see the app banned in the U.S., which has led to renewed interest from potential buyers, including Kotick. Kotick, according to WSJ's sources, has floated the idea of a buy to ByteDance's co-founder and is reportedly looking for partners, which could include Sam Altman of OpenAI. According to the Wall Street Journal, 'OpenAI could use TikTok to help train its AI models if a partner such as Kotick could raise the capital for such an acquisition.' TikTok's sale has been estimated to be in the range of 'hundreds of billions of dollars.' Kotick departed from Activision Blizzard late last year after completing the publisher's $68 billion sale to Microsoft. Kotick's tenure at Activision Blizzard spanned decades and came under fire in 2021, when the state of California filed a now-dismissed lawsuit following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. Ultimately, California's Civil Rights Department withdrew all allegations and claims relating to harassment and settled with Activision Blizzard in December 2023 for $54 million to resolve unsubstantiated pay and promotions claims. The court-approved settlement included a statement that provided that: '[N]o court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations that there has been systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard; that Activision Blizzard senior executives ignored, condoned, or tolerated a culture of systemic harassment, retaliation, or discrimination; or that Activision Blizzard's Board of Directors including its Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kotick, acted improperly with regard to the handling of any instances of workplace misconduct.' In addition, the settlement noted that a former chair of the EEOC had conducted a review of the company's policies, practices and certain complaint data and reported that there was no widespread harassment at the company. The company itself publicly released its Transparency Report, which further asserted that there was never been widespread or systemic harassment or gender pay inequity at Activision Blizzard. Kotick departed with a golden parachute estimated to be worth around $15 million. Updated: 04/01/2024, 2:00 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include details of the CRD settlement, that Activision Blizzard denied any wrongdoing, and the settlement confirms CRD could not substantiate those claims. Updated: 05/17/2025, 12:10 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional language from the CRD settlement, and to include that as part of the settlement, the CRD withdrew the claims related to harassment from its complaint. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Call Of Duty Discloses AI Slop After Months Of Players Complaining
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 players have been accusing various loading screens and calling cards from the game of being AI-generated since it came out last fall, but it was only ever based on vibes and the occasional very convincing piece of seemingly obvious AI slop. Now Activision has admitted to using AI-generated assets in the hit multiplayer shooter on its Steam page. The developers describe how their game uses AI generated content like this: 'Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets,' reads the disclosure on Valve's storefront, recently spotted by CharlieIntel. While it doesn't elaborate any further on which assets are made with AI and how, the confession has reaffirmed what some fans had been claiming for months. The Black Ops 6 slop controversy began last October, a week before the game released, with allegations spreading on YouTube of certain prestige emblems looking AI-generated. A set of sexy vampire calling cards raised red flags again in early November, with fans pointing at different parts of the art that looked oddly rendered. But the most convincing examples of potential AI slop arrived in early December. Loading screens depicted hands with extra digits, a tell-tale sign of work produced by algorithms built on stealing other artists' work, but not knowing how to count. One loading screen included a black glove with six fingers holding billiard balls. The second was a zombie Santa holding up hand that had six fingers. Both were laughably egregious at the time, but also fostered fears that other less obvious examples might also have been AI-generated. The appearance of the Zombie Santa was even worse in the context of Zombies mode's voice actors being replaced amid a SAG-AFTRA strike for greater AI protections in game acting. Activision's new disclosure comes after previous reports that developers within the company were encouraged to experiment with new AI tools in their work. A report by Wired claimed an entire paid cosmetic was made with help from AI in 2023's Modern Warfare, after the publisher had greenlit the tools for help with making concept art and marketing materials. That same year, then CEO Bobby Kotick praised the work being done at OpenAI and other companies, suggesting the technology would be as transformative as the original Macintosh computer. Now Activision is owned by Microsoft, which touted the largest launch ever for Black Ops 6 last fall thanks in part to Game Pass, and has itself been moving full-steam ahead with trying to incorporate generative AI into game development. The company recently announced Muse, a model for visualizing gameplay built on data captured from people playing Ninja Theory's 2020 PvP game Bleeding Edge. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer even claimed similar technology would aid in game preservation by making it easier to emulate classics on modern hardware. But so far, Black Ops 6 has proven generative-AI tools and the current level of quality control around them often can't even get simple static images on loading screens right. Fortunately, a new SteamDB tag lets players filters games that us generative-AI out of their store searches. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
