Fired Up Gaming

Tag: Microsoft

  • Microsoft might acquire Batman and Mortal Kombat Developers

    It’s being speculated that Microsoft is interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Interactive. This news follows the recent article that AT&T is possibly deciding to sell the video game development arm of Warner Bros. 

    IGN reports that the sale is not currently imminent. The Information reported that with Activision, EA and Take-Two, Microsoft is also interested in acquiring WB Interactive and several game development studios under it. If ever Microsoft, or any other company, buys WB Interactive, then they’d likely purchase studios such as Avalanche Software, Monolith Productions, NetherRealm Studios, Rocksteady Studios, TT Games. They would also be able to buy other WB Games studios that are situated across the globe. 

    Do note that by acquiring WB Interactive, the company will not own Batman or Harry Potter and other notable characters. It only means that in the future, potential buyers must negotiate licensing deals. Doing this allows studios to create new games based on Warner Bros. characters and DC Comics. 

    However, in the sale of NetherRealm Studios, Microsoft or Activision will be able to own Mortal Kombat. 

    By acquiring WB interactive, Microsoft will be able to increase the number of Xbox Studios developers. By adding studios like NetherRealm, they would be able to develop DC and HP games similar to how Insomniac has the license to develop Spider-man games for PlayStation. Microsoft already has high-profile developers under its wings, notably; Ninja Theory, Obsidian, and Double Fine. 

    The news of parent company AT&T planning to sell EB interactive was released last month. The company is looking down to pay its $145 billion debt. WB Interactive is potentially valued at $4 billion. 

    In 2018, AT&T purchased Time Warner for $109 billion, and this is what resulted in its current debt. Investors are demanding that the company sell “non-core assets,” such as DirecTV and WB Interactive. 

    IGN reports WB Montreal is working on a new Batman project. There are rumors that Rocksteady is developing a new DC game. In addition to that, Avalanche Studios is being linked to an unannounced Harry Potter RPG. 

  • Microsoft discontinues Mixer, pushes users to Facebook

    Microsoft gives up its video-streaming service, Mixer. It is quite a surprise, especially since they are pushing their content creators and other users to move to Facebook instead. As reported by Byberry, the social media tech giant created and launched Facebook Gaming. Facebook Gaming is a new competition against veteran video streaming services such as Twitch, YouTube, and Mixer. 

    According to the source article by CNBC, the company decided to retract their service due to its failure to dominate the market. Microsoft is still in the race when it comes to game development, console hardware, and cloud service. However, they have given up on Mixer and will instead focus their attention on launching a new version of the Xbox video game console this year. 

    Microsoft bought Beam four years ago, a startup game streaming service that they then renamed Mixer in 2017. They come in third with YouTube being the oldest and Amazon’s Twitch in 2014. Despite being a strong competitor, there is no doubt that Mixer still lacked compared to other game-streaming services. 

    In a data analysis form from Stream Hatchet, owned by Streamlabs, Microsoft’s Mixer failed to gain more traction compared to Twitch. In his blog post this Monday, Microsoft’s executive vice president Phil Spencer wrote, “Ultimately, the success of Partners and streamers on Mixer is dependent on our ability to scale the service for them as quickly and broadly as possible. It became clear that the time needed to grow our own live streaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences we want to deliver to gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform.” 

    Microsoft did try to enhance Mixer’s user base by trying to poach major content creators to switch to their service. Despite succeeding, it cannot be said that their effort was fruitful. Mixer’s operations will come to a halt on July 22. After that, the homepage will redirect to the Facebook website fb.gg. With Mixer out of the equation, Microsoft and Facebook are working towards a cloud streaming service named xCloud, which is already in preview. 

    The head of Facebook Gaming, Vivek Sharma, stated in her blog post, “Imagine a scenario where people can instantly move from watching a Facebook Gaming creator’s live stream to jumping in and playing the game with their closest friends, all in one click. Project xCloud can help change the way people discover games by expanding our Playable Ads format, enabling Xbox games on your mobile device. While scrolling News Feed, people could try out awesome games from Xbox Game Pass immediately, further blurring the line between discovery and play.” 

  • New date set for Playstation 5 event that was previously postponed

    Sony Interactive Entertainment plans to launch the event for PlayStation 5. This is their second attempt to launch after it was postponed. 

    VentureBeat reported that the company is currently planning to give a glimpse of PlayStation 5’s games this Thursday, at 1 p.m. Pacific time. They aim to offer fans and potential customers a closer look at the upcoming next-gen console software that can only be deemed as epic. 

    Sony decided to continue to move ahead of their plan a week after its postponement. The event was supposed to be held last Thursday, June 4. However, the launch had to be canceled. This is in response to the protests that were happening in different parts of the United States. Sony Interactive Entertainment said that they would make matching donations for organizations that support the organizations against police brutality. 

    PlayStation 5 will launch this Thursday, and the company is ensuring that it will happen. 

    A previous report by VentureBeat covered Sony’s plan. The event will focus on games primarily from first-part and third-party studios. It is to be expected that a reveal will take place. The company plans to highlight its latest software, with it said to run natively on PlayStation 5. 

    Sony made sure that the specific games in the spotlight have not reached the ears of nerd enthusiasts and other gaming websites. 

    Sony’s event will clash with Microsoft’s spontaneous Xbox event. While Microsoft moved their event to August, the rivalry between PlayStation 5 and Xbox will still take place. Sony launching ahead of Microsoft changes the game once again.