Nick is joined by Jarret and Mike (formerly of Watchpoint Radio) to talk about the shocking Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard. They talk about their initial reactions to the news and how surprised they were. Mike mentions his concerns for the Raven workers that are striking and wonders how they will be treated by incoming leadership. Nick points out that the transition is going to take time before we will truly see any change, or even for Phil Spencer to be able to weigh in on the Raven strike. They talk about how Activision Blizzard has been influenced by Bobby Kotick’s leadership and his board members, and hope that Phil Spencer will prove a better leader. Nick talks about how Phil has done a great job managing the Xbox brand the last few years, to the point that Nick is considering getting Gamepass. Jarret is worried about what could come after Phil Spencer.

They talk about whether the acquisition could run afoul of anti-trust laws, and then speculate about what Sony will need to do to respond to this news. They consider other companies that might be up for acquisition and whether Sony or Microsoft would buy them. They talk about Phil Spencer’s leadership can bring hope back to the Blizzard community for the first time in several years, and how players who previously left may now feel permission to return to the game. They wonder if Blizzcon will be a thing but agree that Phil Spencer should be involved if it is.

Thank you for listening to WoW! Talk! Our next live show with Rei and Harv is scheduled for 1/31/22 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. For any scheduling updates, please follow us on twitter @wowtalkmtb. Send any emails about your thoughts or feedback or to answer our question of the week to [email protected].

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