Both Activision games and Blizzard games see a firm drop

Taking a look at the very last table in Activision Blizzard’s financial report for Q1 2023 on BusinessWire, there were 368 million monthly active users during the quarter, compared to 389 million in Q4 2022.

That might not sound like too much of a decline, but Activision and Blizzard games have taken quite a hit. The monthly active users for Activision games dropped from 111 million to 98 million, while those for Blizzard games were cut almost in half from 45 million to 27 million. Some of this isn’t too surprising, since most games lose a good portion of its userbase after launch, be it Call of Duty, Overwatch, or otherwise.

For wider context, the 45 million figure for Blizzard games last quarter was definitely a surge. Back in Q1 2022, there were only about 22 million monthly active users, so the launch of Overwatch 2 helped elevate interest. It’s a bit hard to tell whether the drop in activity for Overwatch 2 is to blame, though, since the active player count figures since the game’s launch have been quite consistent according to ActivePlayer.

Perhaps some of this overall drop for Activision Blizzard might be due to the successful Diablo 4 beta possibly grabbing players from Diablo 3 and Diablo Immortal, or an overall drop in player count for Warzone 2 and other Call of Duty games.

The post Activision Blizzard Player Count Drops by 20 Million Since Last Quarter appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Microsoft Activision deal blocked over cloud concerns, not Call of Duty exclusivity

Both Microsoft and Activision released statements expressing disappointment over the decision. The companies have announced that they’ve already begun working together to appeal CMA’s ruling. However, experts say that having a decision made by the CMA overturned is no easy feat.

It’s pertinent to mention that the CMA didn’t block the deal over Sony’s Call of Duty exclusivity concerns or concerns over competition in the console space. The authority has concluded that console business would not have been harmed by the merger. It is competition in the cloud gaming arena that CMA is concerned about. Additionally, it finds Microsoft’s proposed remedies inadequate.

“Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice,” CMA said. “That is best achieved by allowing the current competitive dynamics in cloud gaming to continue to do their job.”

The post Microsoft and Activision Already Appealing UK’s Decision to Block Merger appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Completing Diablo 4’s Battle Passes will take time

Speaking to PC Gamer, associate game director Joe Piepiora revealed that players are “looking at roughly 80 hours worth of time invested to complete the entirety of the Battle Pass.”

With new Diablo 4 Battle Passes expected to become available every three months (via GameSpot), players looking to complete each new seasonal pass will need to invest around 320 hours per year.

The good news is that players can expect the Battle Pass to be completed behind the scenes as they rank their character up to the maximum of 100. Hitting the level cap “could take a little longer” than the 80 hours needed for the Battle Pass.

While “80 hours” may sound like a lot of time, other Battle Passes work in much the same way. For example, Call of Duty’s Battle Passes require around one hour of in-game time per Tier. 100 Tiers means 100 hours spent playing each season, though there are occasional Double Battle Pass XP weekends that cut the time down a little.

Despite hype from the community, Diablo 4 was left out of the official list of PlayStation’s Most Anticipated PS5 Games for 2023.

The post Diablo 4 Battle Passes Will Take ‘Roughly 80 Hours’ Each to Complete appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver gameplay trailer

Lifeweaver’s abilities allow him to provide cover, dodge around quickly, grab allies to pull them out of precarious positions, and lift enemies out of the way. He utilizes “biolight” technology to do all of this.

It’s great to see a new Support character being added to the roster. Hopefully this encourages more players to try him out and feel more comfortable in the Support role. Healers are unfortunately pretty rare when solo queuing, so a new addition might hopefully shake things up a bit.

Players will be able to take on the role of Lifeweaver when Season 4 launches on April 11. He’ll be available to try for free in limited-time game modes or fully unlockable through the premium battle pass.

While waiting for the new season to drop, why not play one of the new PS Plus Essential games that have just dropped? And here’s our preview of the next big gaming release, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

The post New Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver Hero’s Abilities Showcased in Gameplay Trailer appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

How NetEase got pulled into the Microsoft Activision deal fiasco

According to The New York Times (via Eurogamer), Kotick was in a Zoom meeting with NetEase boss Ding Lei when the latter suggested through a translator that the Microsoft Activision deal may face hurdles in China with the current state of Activision NetEase partnership.

Kotick reportedly felt “threatened” by Lei bringing the topic up, and somehow ended up believing that Lei was suggesting that he would be able to influence the Chinese government’s decision about the deal.

Perhaps, Lei’s comments were lost in translation but it’s unclear why Kotick felt threatened by the mere mention of the merger. In the end, he decided not to extend Activision Blizzard’s contract with NetEase – a decision made in haste that ultimately resulted in all of Blizzard Entertainment games going dark for millions of players in China.

NetEase was understandably infuriated by Kotick’s move, and refused to entertain Activision’s request for a temporary extension of contract to keep Blizzard games online.

The post Activision Ditched Chinese Partner Over Microsoft Deal – Report appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Microsoft Activision deal will not lessen competition, says CMA

The CMA has said in its provisional ruling that it does not believe that Microsoft Activision deal being approved will result in “substantial” lessening of competition in the U.K. The regulator came to this conclusion after seeing additional evidence that making games like Call of Duty exclusive to Microsoft’s ecosystem will incur significant losses.

“The updated analysis now shows that it would not be commercially beneficial to Microsoft to make CoD exclusive to Xbox following the deal, but that Microsoft will instead still have the incentive to continue to make the game available on PlayStation,” part of the statement reads.

This statement will come as a huge relief to Microsoft. U.K. took the toughest stance on the acquisition, going as far as proposing that Microsoft should offload Call of Duty if it wants the deal to pass.

Sony has not responded to the CMA’s provisional findings yet, and it remains to be seen what remedies the CMA will ask Microsoft to implement in order for it to seal the deal in April.

The post Microsoft Activision Deal Might Be Approved in UK appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

EC will now make Microsoft Activision deal decision by end of May

As reported by Reuters and Bloomberg Law, Microsoft submitted a remedies package to the EC yesterday, March 16th. What commitments the company is legally prepared to make have not been made public, but the regulator will now need to “market test” the remedies and get feedback from Microsoft’s rivals and customers.

As a result, EC will now announce its decision on May 22nd.

Check out Activision deals on Amazon

Per Bloomberg Law, it’s the CMA that Microsoft is more worried about. The U.K. regulator has had the harshest response to the deal and has made its criticisms and concerns public. With the CMA set to make its decision by April 26th, Microsoft’s focus will now shift to the U.K. in a desperate attempt to seek approval.

Microsoft has already acknowledged that there will be a slight delay in closing the Activision Blizzard deal if it ends up being approved.

The post EU Delays Microsoft Activision Deal Decision appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

How to play the Diablo 4 beta on PS5 and PS4

To play the Diablo 4 beta on PS5 and PS4, users must:

• Pre-order any version of the game right here to enjoy early access to the beta during March 17-19.
• Play the open beta during March 24-26, without any need to pre-order.
• Gain access through special promotions, like this one taking place at KFC.

Upon pre-ordering the game or entering the beta code, users will be able to pre-load the Diablo 4 beta for early access.

Buy Diablo 4 on Amazon

For those who have early access, the beta will become available at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 4 PM GMT / 5 PM CET on March 17.

Those waiting for the open beta should be able to pre-load it a day or two early, with it eventually becoming playable at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 4 PM GMT / 5 PM CET on March 24.

For more PS How guides, here’s how to use the new PS5 Discord Voice Chat. And here’s how to restore licenses on PS5 and why you would want to.

The post How to Download Diablo 4 Beta on PS5 and PS4 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Mud slinging over Microsoft Activision deal continues

The executive in question is none other than Activision Blizzard’s EVP Corporate Affairs and CCO Lulu Cheng Meservey. On Twitter, she claimed that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said during a recent hearing in Brussels, “I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.”

Apparently, the aforementioned statement was made on February 21st.

The CEO of SIE answered that question in Brussels.

In his words:

“I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.”

— Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) March 8, 2023

It seems unlikely that Ryan would go on to make such a statement on record, especially considering that Sony has submitted thousands of pages arguing why it thinks the Microsoft Activision deal will harm business and consumers. Whether we agree with those arguments or not is another matter.

CMA’s decision on the merger is expected in April.

The post Activision Accuses Sony of Admitting It Only Wants to Sabotage Microsoft Deal appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

How to get the Overwatch 2 x One Punch Man free Legendary skin

All players need to do is to play matches in any Unranked, Competitive, or Arcade game mode between now and April 6. A total of six free Overwatch 2 x One Punch Man rewards will be available with the free Legendary Mumen Rider-Soldier: 76 skin being the ultimate reward. Here’s how to earn those rewards:

• Saitama’s Fist Weapon Charm – play 4 games
• Mumen Rider Name Card – play 8 games
• Cyclist of Justice Victory Pose for Soldier: 76 – play 12 games
• Justice Crash Highlight Intro for Soldier: 76 – play 16 games
• Boros Weapon Charm – play 20 games
• Legendary Mumen Rider-Soldier: 76 skin – play 24 games

There will also be four bundles available from the in-game shop, each with its own price. These are the bundles available now:

• Doomfist x Saitama Bundle (2,500 Overwatch coins) – includes Saitama legendary skin, Training Regimen emote, One Hundred Push-ups voice line, Saitama Punch highlight intro, and Saitama name card
• Genji x Genos Bundle (1,900 Overwatch coins) – includes Genos Legendary Skin and Genos Name Card
• Kiriko x Terrible Tornado Bundle (2,100 Overwatch coins) – includes Terrible Tornado legendary skin, Terribly Impressive victory pose, and Terrible Tornado name card
• One Punch Man Mega Bundle (4,400 Overwatch coins) – includes all three of the above bundles

The post Overwatch 2 x One Punch Man Event Offers a Free Legendary Skin appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.