Activision Blizzard: Last News

Halsey has confirmed they’re due to release a reworked version of 2021’s ‘Lilith’ featuring BTS’ Suga.Originally released as part of Halsey’s fourth album “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’, the new version of ‘Lilith’ is being shared to celebrate the long-awaited launch of Diablo 4.‘Lilith’ by Halsey ft. Suga is set for release June 5 and over the weekend, the official Diablo Twitter account shared a 20-second teaser that sees Halsey take on the guise of Diablo character Lilith..@halsey ft.

Microsoft president Brad Smith has described yesterday (April 26) as the company’s “darkest day in our four decades in Britain,” after its proposed £55billion purchase of Activision Blizzard was blocked in the UK.Yesterday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it was blocking Microsoft’s proposed acquisition, over concerns that ownership of Activision Blizzard‘s catalogue — which includes the likes of Call Of Duty, Overwatch and World Of Warcraft — would harm competition in the cloud gaming market.Speaking on the BBC‘s Wake Up To Money podcast (via GamesIndustry.biz), Brad Smith accused the decision of being “bad for Britain,” and claimed it will “discourage innovation and investment in the UK”.“Microsoft has been in the United Kingdom for 40 years and we play a vital role, not just supporting businesses and non-profits but even defending the nation from cyber-security threats,” said Smith. “But this decision, I have to say, is probably the darkest day in our four decades in Britain.

World Of Warcraft next week (May 2), and ahead of its release, developers from Blizzard Entertainment have sat down with NME to discuss how it worked to make the “cowboy mole people” Niffen feel like a natural addition to Azeroth.Earlier in the week, Blizzard shared a video detailing everything that fans can expect from patch 10.1.Besides a new raid and an extra zone, the video showcased the introduction of a new race — the subterranean mole-like Niffen — and the return of a snail racing, which first appeared in the land of Highmountain.Speaking to NME, game director Ion Hazzikostas and lead quest designer Josh Augustine explored how Blizzard Entertainment worked to ensure the Niffen felt like they had always been living in the world of Azeroth.Augustine explained that the World Of Warcraft universe can have “everything from silly goblins to serious heart-wrenching stories,” and the discovery of a new area — such as Dragonflight 10.1’s Zaralek Cavern — offered a “great opportunity” to introduce new inhabitants to Azeroth.“A lot of times, with the Niffen for example, when we go to new places it’s really natural to think ‘who would be down here?’ It’s really natural to come up with a new race and culture, then start digging into…if they’ve been down here, how did they survive? What are their skills? What sort of traditions have they developed? It’s such a fun thought process to dig into.”“I remember the first time I saw they had cowboy hats,” Augustine recalled.

Activision Blizzard have accused the company of losing workers and “creating crisis maps” of what it can release, due to issues with the company’s remote working policy.In a series of tweets posted yesterday, World Of Warcraft game producer Adam ‘Glaxigrav’ claimed he has lost “yet another” employee this week.“Blizzard is losing amazing talent because someone in power doesn’t listen to the game directors who make his products,” wrote Adam, who said Blizzard can’t “make better Dragonflights […] If we get rid of everyone who made it”.“‘Some talent’ is undermining the point,” he continued. “We are creating crisis maps of what we can or cannot ship.

Activision Blizzard has detailed recent changes to its Ricochet anti-cheat system, including developer-side match replays and a number of creative ways to frustrate Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 cheaters.In a blog, posted yesterday (March 5), Activision Blizzard confirmed that its kernel-level anti-cheat software Ricochet had been updated with “several new layers of security and detections” to battle cheaters.One such feature is a new replay investigation tool, which will allow teams at Activision Blizzard to watch any completed match to review its footage for signs of cheating.At the “highest tiers” of ranked in Modern Warfare 2, Activision has shared that matches will be automatically recorded in case they need to be investigated for cheating.“Though it’s a new tool for Team Ricochet, Replay has already helped with investigations into suspicious accounts resulting in permanent bans,” shared the company.Additionally, Ricochet has been updated with new software to detect third-party hardware, which can be used to minimise recoil for users. Anyone caught using this sort of hardware will first receive a warning about their device, but continued use can lead to suspensions or even bans.Elsewhere, a number of creative in-game solutions from Call Of Duty: Vanguard have been implemented in an attempt to frustrate cheaters during matches.

Activision Blizzard regarding its handling of salaries in Call Of Duty and Overwatch professional scenes.In the lawsuit, the US Government stated that Activision Blizzard’s Competitive Balance Tax in its Overwatch and Call Of Duty leagues limited competition and “suppressed esports players’ wages”.The Competitive Balance Tax forced competing teams to adhere to a salary cap implemented by Activision, meaning they were fined if any of their players were paid above a certain amount.In October 2021, Activision Blizzard told Call Of Duty and Overwatch teams that the Competitive Balance Tax would no longer be enforced, following an investigation by the DOJ.“The Competitive Balance Tax substantially lessened competition between teams in the Overwatch and Call Of Duty Leagues for esports players and limited the players’ compensation,” alleged the DOJ, who added that teams who used most of their salary cap on more expensive players drove down wages for everyone else.If successful, the lawsuit would hit Activision with a financial penalty and order the company to avoid reimplementing anything like the Competitive Balance Tax again.“Professional esports players – like all workers – deserve the benefits of competition for their services,” said Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

Microsoft president Brad Smith has said the company doesn’t “see a viable path” to buying Activision Blizzard without its Call Of Duty series, warning regulators that any concessions of the like could “kill” the deal.Currently, the proposed £50billion acquisition is facing resistance from European, US and UK regulators, with a number of watchdogs pushing for Microsoft to make concessions for the deal to pass. One concession suggested by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was for Microsoft to sell the Call Of Duty series to another buyer.As reported by Eurogamer, Smith attended a press briefing in Brussels yesterday (February 21), where Microsoft defended its attempts at acquiring Activision Blizzard.“We just don’t see a viable path to sell the Activision studio or Call Of Duty game to someone else,” Smith told press.

Call Of Duty: Warzone 2.0.Ashika Island arrived yesterday (February 15) as part of Warzone 2.0‘s delayed second season. Players also saw the return of 1v1 Gulag in Battle Royale mode, difficulty tuning, a new Exclusion Zone for DMZ, plus DMZ looting and loadout changes.However, YouTuber Geeky Pastimes has already discovered one of Ashika Island’s hidden easter eggs that combines a typically-relaxing pastime with the chance to get impressive loot.You can go fishing in Warzone, and even feed a fake seal.Here's how!https://t.co/2AYWJgOOLd pic.twitter.com/IjtmTEsIl9— Geeky Pastimes (@geekypastimes) February 15, 2023As reported by The Loadout, players will first need to find some sort of explosive weapon like Semtex or Frag Grenades if they want to go fishing, then head to one of Warzone 2.0’s various beaches.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC will be able to preload the game’s campaign mode ahead of this week’s early access phase.Preloading for the campaign begins for PC on October 19 at 6PM BST / 7PM CEST / 10AM PT, meaning players can jump straight into the single-player mode when early access begins.Anyone who has pre-ordered Modern Warfare 2 on PC will be able to pre-load the campaign through Battle.net or Steam, depending on where their copy was purchased for.The campaign’s early access kicks off from October 20 at 6PM BST, meaning players get just over a week to complete the shooter’s single-player story before Modern Warfare 2 launches fully on October 28.Pre-loading for the full game, which will include Modern Warfare 2‘s multiplayer and special ops modes, will begin on October 26 – again at 6PM BST.With just over a week left until the game launches, Infinity Ward has also shared Modern Warfare 2‘s minimum and recommended PC system requirements.

Microsoft’s Game Pass service has been somewhat shrouded in secrecy regarding its financials – until now, anyway, as a document has revealed just how much money it generates a year.Game Pass’ revenue has been revealed as part of Microsoft’s ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), who has approved the deal, has released a document outlining its rationale – which also includes a lot of data on gaming companies.According to the document (spotted by Tweaktown), Xbox Game Pass generated £2.6bn ($2.9bn) in the fiscal period ending January 2021 – though even this doesn’t offer the complete picture, as it only covers console revenue and PC Game Pass is not included.Still, that revenue makes up around 18 per cent of Microsoft’s total yearly Xbox revenue at £14.7bn ($16.28bn), or almost 30 per cent of its games and service revenue £11.3bn ($12.581).Microsoft has been inconsistent about revealing just how many subscribers Game Pass has – but went from 15 million to 18 million subscribers between August 2021 and March 2022.Though as Eurogamer notes, it’s not exactly clear how they’ve arrived at this figure, as it could include discounted game sales through Game Pass and DLC sales from games on the service, or indeed it might not.For context, it is revealed elsewhere in the document that Nintendo Switch Online generated £843million ($932million), and EA Play brought in £322million ($356million).The document has been released following substantial scrutiny of the proposed Activision Blizzard merger.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard’s rivals with regards to their proposed £50billion merger.That’s according to a leaked document seen by Reuters, in which the EU is asking developers if Microsoft would be incentivised to block rivals’ access to Activision Blizzard’s biggest titles – most notably Call of Duty, as well as the recently-released Overwatch 2.The questionnaire, which features around 100 questions, also asks developers, publishers and and distributors if the deal would impact their bargaining power with regards to selling console and PC games on the Xbox platform, or via Game Pass.Additionally, the leaked document also asks if, given the enormous popularity of their games, Activision Blizzard’s user data would give Microsoft a competitive advantage in the industry.

Activision Blizzard illegally retaliated against unionising workers at Raven Software by withholding raises, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found.Via The Washington Post, the labour board found that Activision Blizzard withheld raises from quality assurance (QA) testers at Raven Software, which it attributed to their union activities.Following these findings, Activision Blizzard and Raven Software QA testers will continue negotiations around a collective bargaining agreement. If the two parties cannot agree on terms, the NLRB could file a complaint.

Activision Blizzard‘s chief compliance officer.In a company email sent out on Thursday (September 29), CEO Bobby Kotick announced staff that Townsend would be stepping down from her position after less than two years at the Call Of Duty publisher (via The Wall Street Journal).“She [Frances Townsend] tirelessly and successfully navigated a challenging time for the Company with leadership, conviction, and grace,” wrote Kotick in the email. Despite leaving her position, Townsend will continue as an official advisor to Kotick and to Activision Blizzard’s board of directors.Activision Blizzard spokesperson Rich George went on to provide Kotaku with a copy of the company email, which further detailed Townsend’s departure and explained that the company is moving closer to completing the merger with Microsoft.Her role will be taken over by the current senior vice president of ethics and compliance, Jen Brewer, who will be promoted to chief ethics and compliance officer after being at the company for 10 years.Prior to joining Activision Blizzard as chief compliance officer, Townsend served as the assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism to President George W.

Infinity Ward has shared the system requirements for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC, as the shooter prepares to launch its first beta on the platform.As detailed in a blog post, the required specs for Modern Warfare 2 are fairly forgiving, and fans with older PCs should still be able to take part in the game’s PC beta.While there’s a lot of disparity between the minimum and recommended requirements for the public beta, all PCs will need the latest version of Windows 10, 25GB storage space, a broadband internet connection, and DirectX 12 compatibility.Beyond that, below you can see the minimum and recommended specs to see if your PC will be able to run Modern Warfare 2. It’s worth noting that this is just for the beta, which means that certain requirements – such as the 25GB storage space – will likely be different for the full game at launch.Along with the system requirements, Infinity Ward has also outlined a range of settings that will be available.

Microsoft‘s ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard may “harm rivals” and “damage competition.”In a statement released today (via VGC), the CMA said that it is “concerned that if Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard it could harm rivals, including recent and future entrants into gaming, by refusing them access to Activision Blizzard games or providing access on much worse terms.”The report added that the CMA has “received evidence about the potential impact of combining Activision Blizzard with Microsoft’s broader ecosystem,” which it believes could be used to “damage competition” in console, cloud and PC markets.Due to this, the CMA is considering “an in-depth Phase 2 investigation,” following on from the probe it launched in July.

Blizzard has announced what season 2 of Hearthstone Battlegrounds will include when it launches at the end of the month – and some players aren’t happy.READ MORE: What the hell has happened at Activision and why should you care?Alongside quest mechanics and two new heroes, the planned update to Hearthstone’s auto-battler mode will bring with it a new paid season pass that will give buyers access to a premium tier of its reward track.The first reward of the track is two additional hero slots, which will not be obtainable any other way. This means players who don’t pay will be stuck choosing from two random heroes, while those on the premium tier will have the choice of four.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign mode a week early, if they’ve pre-ordered.A statement from Activision reads: “Anyone who preorders a digital edition of Modern Warfare 2 will receive early campaign access in addition to a host of other previously announced rewards. This grants you up to a week to complete the incredible multimission, single-player, globe-trotting operation before the full game launches.”A description of the campaign explains how “familiar heroes return and new allies are formed as Task Force 141 faces its greatest threat yet – a newly aligned menace with deep, yet unknown connections.”“This campaign features missions in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and is set to be an incredible experience on numerous levels: offshore sieges with underwater combat, all-out explosive assaults from 30,000 feet above enemy strongholds, and high-stakes, low-profile stealth missions in both plain sight and under the cover of darkness.”The announcement comes alongside a new trailer which can be seen below:Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is set to launch October 28.Infinity Ward also recently confirmed a series of beta tests.

Activision Blizzard suggests that Diablo 4 may include microtransactions.The apparent survey was posted to the Diablo 4 subreddit in German but was helpfully translated to English by user BellasaurusRawr, and it is mainly focused on pricing (via PCGamesN).The survey includes mentions of different types of microtransactions that may appear in the final product. It features some basic Diablo 4 assets as well and explains which version of the game will come with extra content, while also asking fans what they’re most likely to purchase.For example, the optional bundles mainly consist of character armour, some of which are pictured in the survey, as well as a variety of different horse mounts – a first for the series, and extra cosmetics like back ornaments.The design descriptions for the character armour explain that players will receive a total of five skins, one for each Diablo 4 class.There’s also the mention of a battle pass with “premium rewards for playing,” but these will only be “cosmetic,” as well as an Early Access period for purchasing specific bundles which will give consumers seven days to play before release, or two days depending on the version.An in-game currency called Platinum is included too, which will be used for purchasing cosmetic items from the in-game store.

Diablo Immortal is causing randomly reduced XP rewards. The bug reduces XP earned from slaying enemies at random, making the grind for players more frustrating. The more dedicated fans have tried to calculate what their exact XP losses are.One Reddit user, staplepies, posted: “We don’t fully understand why or when it will happen.

Call of Duty: Warzone being removed by Activision Blizzard due to accusations of plagiarism, the publisher has issued an apology to the original artist.Artist Sail Lin took to Twitter on July 29 to allege their original work from 2019 had been stolen by the company, pointing out clear imitations by Activision for the “Loyal Samoyed” skin in Call of Duty: Warzone.Lin told Kotaku that they hadn’t been in contact with Activision and had no idea that the publisher was going to add the skin to the game. Both versions have the same backpack, hip pouch and elbow pad as well as clothing being virtually identical, with no colour changes being made.At the time, Lin had reached out to Activision for an “explanation or compensation” and hoped the situation would be “settled soon”.

Activision Blizzard has published a financial report that shows that more than half of the total revenue came from mobile games in the last quarter, more than PC and console games combined.The report covers the three months up to and including June 30, during which time Activision Blizzard earned £273.4million ($332million) from PC games, and £309.6million ($376million) from console sales. Staggeringly, from “mobile and ancillary” sales the company brought in £684.3million ($831million) therefore accounting for more than 50 per cent of total income.If Activision Blizzard were to include income from their “Other” category, which includes income from the Overwatch and Call of Duty leagues as well as its distribution business, which is at an impressive £86.5million ($105million), it still would be less than 50 per cent of its total revenue.At the same point last year console and mobile revenues were much more competitive with one another.