Sony has publicly argued against the merger, claiming that the combined company would deny the PlayStation platform of games like Call of Duty.Īctivision Blizzard is one of the largest video game publishers in the world, with annual revenues of about $8.8 billion in 2021. These objections, which Microsoft has appealed, have extended the expected completion into late 2023 or 2024. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally filed complaints to block the acquisition on the basis that the merger would hinder competition, particularly in the cloud gaming sector. Several countries have approved the merger without any concessions from Microsoft, including the European Commission and China. If approved by international regulators, it would be the largest video game acquisition in history. The acquisition would give Microsoft ownership of franchises including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Candy Crush. Under the terms of the agreement, which were expected to close by Q2 2023 pending regulatory and shareholder approval, Microsoft would own Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King under the Xbox Game Studios ( Microsoft Gaming) division. On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in cash. Proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft Have fun, but if you miss the offer or find that the link no longer works, you can always pick up the game on Abandonia.Business acquisition held from 2022 to 2023 Oops, use the ‘R’ key with caution (whistles and walks away). However, if you go to the US site – and click on the link at the bottom of the page called Client Game Downloads, on the next page (at the bottom) you’ll find a link to the game.īlizzard have also wrapped the game around a modern (Windows) installer package so you don’t have to mess around with Dosbox or similar – just install and play. If you browse to the Blizzard’s European site, there’s no link to the game unless you create an account.

Often compared to Delphine Software Flashback, but with more grunt (and gore…and 80’s action hero wardrobe…with matching hairdo ) Blizzard’s 1994 classic Blackthorne is a real gem of a game and if you missed it the first time around, you can now download a copy for free….All you need to do is sign up for a free Battle.Net account

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