News Mash-Up - Week # 17

• • Activision Blizzard stockholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of Microsoft's proposed $69 billion acquisition of the publisher, with 98% of shares approving the transaction. The deal is now in the hands of the Federal Trade Commission in the US, to determine if it constitutes unfair competition.

  • Microsoft has reported its FY22 Q3 earnings (ending March 2022), game revenue increased +16% year-over-year, with Xbox content and services, and Xbox hardware up +2% and +166%, respectively. The latest figures were attributed to a rise in Xbox Game Pass and first-party game revenue, while third-party titles offset year-over-year growth.

  • Twitch is reportedly looking to decrease the amount of revenue split (commission) it pays to its top streamers. Currently, the revenue split for partners is 50% for a tier one subscription, 60% for a tier two, and 70% for tier three, the top tier. Some top Twitch partners have privately negotiated an alternative revenue split. According to a new report from Bloomberg, this revenue split may be pared down to 50% across the board. In return, streamers can be released from exclusive contracts and there be incentives to push streamers to run more ads.

  • Diablo Immortal will now come to the PC after an initial announcement that it will be a mobile exclusive.

  • Netflix is reportedly looking to significantly ramp up its video game offerings to 50 titles before the end of 2022. Netflix has adapted numerous games into shows such as The Witcher, Cuphead, League of Legends and Cast.

Week commencing Monday 2 May 2022