Microsoft's planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is a massive undertaking like nothing we've seen thus far in the gaming industry, and it certainly wasn't a decision the company came to overnight. In fact, discussion at Microsoft internally seems to have begun as far back as when the board gave approval to acquire ZeniMax, at which point they asked Phil Spencer a critical question:

"What's next?"

According to an interview with Spencer conducted by Axios, the answer was that Xbox needed to make a move in a new direction, a space where it didn't have any strong investments. "The constant conversation had always been about mobile and casual."

Though most people think of Activision-Blizzard most immediately for, well, Activision and Blizzard, the third arm of the publisher is King, maker of Candy Crush and a number of other wildly popular mobile titles. With King under its banner, Xbox has finally picked up a major name in mobile gaming.

In that regard, the acquisition is well in keeping with Xbox's philosophy of recent years: to be on as many platforms as possible and to reach as many users as possible. As Spencer told Axios, he is currently focused on raising player counts for Microsoft games, and will consider the Activision-Blizzard deal a success if it allows him to do that.

“The longest goal for us is: ‘Do creators on our platform feel like they have the best opportunity to reach the maximum number of players with the maximum creative diversity that they need?'” he said.

The ultimate consequences of this gargantuan deal won't fully be felt until well after it completes in 2023, but for now we have an analysis of the numbers involved and reactions from the rest of the industry that may give some clues. Earlier today, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also noted that he wasn't worried about the acquisition potentially being blocked by the US Federal Trade Commission.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Microsoft's planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is a massive undertaking like nothing we've seen thus far in the gaming industry, and it certainly wasn't a decision the company came to overnight. In fact, discussion at Microsoft internally seems to have begun as far back as when the board gave approval to acquire ZeniMax, at which point they asked Phil Spencer a critical question:

"What's next?"

According to an interview with Spencer conducted by Axios, the answer was that Xbox needed to make a move in a new direction, a space where it didn't have any strong investments. "The constant conversation had always been about mobile and casual."

Though most people think of Activision-Blizzard most immediately for, well, Activision and Blizzard, the third arm of the publisher is King, maker of Candy Crush and a number of other wildly popular mobile titles. With King under its banner, Xbox has finally picked up a major name in mobile gaming.

In that regard, the acquisition is well in keeping with Xbox's philosophy of recent years: to be on as many platforms as possible and to reach as many users as possible. As Spencer told Axios, he is currently focused on raising player counts for Microsoft games, and will consider the Activision-Blizzard deal a success if it allows him to do that.

“The longest goal for us is: ‘Do creators on our platform feel like they have the best opportunity to reach the maximum number of players with the maximum creative diversity that they need?'” he said.

The ultimate consequences of this gargantuan deal won't fully be felt until well after it completes in 2023, but for now we have an analysis of the numbers involved and reactions from the rest of the industry that may give some clues. Earlier today, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also noted that he wasn't worried about the acquisition potentially being blocked by the US Federal Trade Commission.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

With Dying Light 2 officially releasing today, the new action game is facing the sort of online issues that often plague new multiplayer games. Players on social media are currently reporting network disconnects, co-op problems, and other online issues, leading developer Techland to put out a statement saying that addressing these problems are at the "top of our list."

In a statement echoed by Dying Light's official Twitter account, a Techland rep told IGN, "Thank you to gamers for your feedback! Disconnects in co-op mode and problems with redeeming awards, codes, and other in-game content (including Twitch Drops from TechlandGG) are at the top of our priority list. Our team is on it. We will update you on the progress."

Dear gamers, thank you for your feedback. Two things on the top of our list: disconnects in co-op mode and problems with redeeming awards, codes, and other in-game content, including Twitch Drops from TechlandGG. Our team is on it. We will update you on the progress.

— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) February 4, 2022

Meanwhile, Dying Light subreddit moderators have created a megathread for players experiencing bugs and other issues. Common complaints include occasional screen flickering on PS5, co-op connections failing, and an inability to remap mouse buttons on PC. Strangely, some players even report a significant framerate drop the longer they play, with the only resolution appearing to be a reboot of the game. The remapping issue also ends up being an accessibility issue for some players.

"I dislocated a couple of fingers on my left hand 15+ years ago and have slightly reduced dexterity, so moving a couple of actions to the additional mouse buttons is the only way can comfortably play," wrote Reddit user Retro-Squid. "Dying Light 2 simply won't accept the mouse buttons for keyboard bindings."

In our review of Dying Light 2, IGN writer Travis Northup also noted consistent audio issues, with one egregious example of an entire character being muted while speaking during cutscenes.

Credit where it's due, Techland's day one patch for Dying Light 2 included fixes for more than 1,000 bugs, including crashing, story progression issues, and some missing voiceover dialogue.

Make sure to also check out IGN's Dying Light 2 wiki for beginner's tips, things to do first in Dying Light 2, and story choice consequences.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

With Dying Light 2 officially releasing today, the new action game is facing the sort of online issues that often plague new multiplayer games. Players on social media are currently reporting network disconnects, co-op problems, and other online issues, leading developer Techland to put out a statement saying that addressing these problems are at the "top of our list."

In a statement echoed by Dying Light's official Twitter account, a Techland rep told IGN, "Thank you to gamers for your feedback! Disconnects in co-op mode and problems with redeeming awards, codes, and other in-game content (including Twitch Drops from TechlandGG) are at the top of our priority list. Our team is on it. We will update you on the progress."

Dear gamers, thank you for your feedback. Two things on the top of our list: disconnects in co-op mode and problems with redeeming awards, codes, and other in-game content, including Twitch Drops from TechlandGG. Our team is on it. We will update you on the progress.

— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) February 4, 2022

Meanwhile, Dying Light subreddit moderators have created a megathread for players experiencing bugs and other issues. Common complaints include occasional screen flickering on PS5, co-op connections failing, and an inability to remap mouse buttons on PC. Strangely, some players even report a significant framerate drop the longer they play, with the only resolution appearing to be a reboot of the game. The remapping issue also ends up being an accessibility issue for some players.

"I dislocated a couple of fingers on my left hand 15+ years ago and have slightly reduced dexterity, so moving a couple of actions to the additional mouse buttons is the only way can comfortably play," wrote Reddit user Retro-Squid. "Dying Light 2 simply won't accept the mouse buttons for keyboard bindings."

In our review of Dying Light 2, IGN writer Travis Northup also noted consistent audio issues, with one egregious example of an entire character being muted while speaking during cutscenes.

Credit where it's due, Techland's day one patch for Dying Light 2 included fixes for more than 1,000 bugs, including crashing, story progression issues, and some missing voiceover dialogue.

Make sure to also check out IGN's Dying Light 2 wiki for beginner's tips, things to do first in Dying Light 2, and story choice consequences.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Marvel Comics has announced Star Wars: Obi-Wan, the latest addition to its ever-growing Star Wars lineup. This new limited series will feature five stories set at different points in Obi-Wan Kenobi's life, from his days as a Jedi Initiate to his exile on Tatooine.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan is written by Christopher Cantwell (Iron Man) and illustrated by Ario Anindito (Star Wars: The High Republic). Similar to the Kenobi-centric issues of Jason Aaron's Star Wars series, the stories in this comic will use Obi-Wan's journals as a framing device, as the aging Jedi Master chronicles his past adventures and keeps a distant, watchful eye over Luke Skywalker.

"What I love about Obi-Wan is that he is so much a character of patience and fortitude," Cantwell told StarWars.com. "He holds out hope and keeps that flame going even in the darkest times. He lost his Master, his best friend…he’s experienced a lot of grief. But he pushes forward. He waits on Tatooine for decades. He is the Buddhist concept of kshanti — patience — personified. He is able to hold onto the glimmers of light amidst the cloak of darkness. Every issue thematically deals with his ability to do that as a person."

Cantwell adds, "The frame story of the entire series takes place just weeks before A New Hope begins. So here’s Obi-Wan, waiting and sensing that things are about to drastically change. There is going to be some culmination of his destiny. And — just like what happens for us all when we face some of our greatest challenges — he is really wrestling with it internally. It’s this wrestling that is in fact causing him to reflect on his past. He’s searching for strength and wisdom he’s gained over his lifetime, wanting it to reinforce his readiness to face his fate."

Naturally, Star Wars fans can expect a number of familiar Prequel-era faces to show up in these five tales, including Jedi Masters Qui-Gon Jin and Yoda and Obi-Wan's doomed pupil, Anakin Skywalker. The series also promises to showcase Obi-Wan at the early stages of his Jedi career, a pre-Episode I period not often explored in the Disney era.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan #1 will hit stores in May 2022.

This new series arrives as Lucasfilm gears up to debut the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi live-action series on Disney+. That series will feature Ewan McGregor reprising the role of Obi-Wan, and Hayden Christensen is also returning to play Darth Vader. Christensen's return may help finally solve a decades-old Star Wars mystery.

The live-action series doesn't have a release date yet, but hopefully it won't be long after the comic's May debut. For now, brush up on what to expect from Star Wars in 2022.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Marvel Comics has announced Star Wars: Obi-Wan, the latest addition to its ever-growing Star Wars lineup. This new limited series will feature five stories set at different points in Obi-Wan Kenobi's life, from his days as a Jedi Initiate to his exile on Tatooine.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan is written by Christopher Cantwell (Iron Man) and illustrated by Ario Anindito (Star Wars: The High Republic). Similar to the Kenobi-centric issues of Jason Aaron's Star Wars series, the stories in this comic will use Obi-Wan's journals as a framing device, as the aging Jedi Master chronicles his past adventures and keeps a distant, watchful eye over Luke Skywalker.

"What I love about Obi-Wan is that he is so much a character of patience and fortitude," Cantwell told StarWars.com. "He holds out hope and keeps that flame going even in the darkest times. He lost his Master, his best friend…he’s experienced a lot of grief. But he pushes forward. He waits on Tatooine for decades. He is the Buddhist concept of kshanti — patience — personified. He is able to hold onto the glimmers of light amidst the cloak of darkness. Every issue thematically deals with his ability to do that as a person."

Cantwell adds, "The frame story of the entire series takes place just weeks before A New Hope begins. So here’s Obi-Wan, waiting and sensing that things are about to drastically change. There is going to be some culmination of his destiny. And — just like what happens for us all when we face some of our greatest challenges — he is really wrestling with it internally. It’s this wrestling that is in fact causing him to reflect on his past. He’s searching for strength and wisdom he’s gained over his lifetime, wanting it to reinforce his readiness to face his fate."

Naturally, Star Wars fans can expect a number of familiar Prequel-era faces to show up in these five tales, including Jedi Masters Qui-Gon Jin and Yoda and Obi-Wan's doomed pupil, Anakin Skywalker. The series also promises to showcase Obi-Wan at the early stages of his Jedi career, a pre-Episode I period not often explored in the Disney era.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan #1 will hit stores in May 2022.

This new series arrives as Lucasfilm gears up to debut the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi live-action series on Disney+. That series will feature Ewan McGregor reprising the role of Obi-Wan, and Hayden Christensen is also returning to play Darth Vader. Christensen's return may help finally solve a decades-old Star Wars mystery.

The live-action series doesn't have a release date yet, but hopefully it won't be long after the comic's May debut. For now, brush up on what to expect from Star Wars in 2022.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Destiny and former Halo developer Bungie was at one point considering launching its own game streaming platform, Business Insider reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

As part of a report about Google's attempts to course correct on its failing Stadia streaming service, Google reportedly pitched its tech to Bungie, which was already exploring its own potential streaming service. Under the white-label deal, Bungie would own content and control the front-end service, but Google technology would support the platform.

Of course, Sony recently announced a decision to purchase Bungie for $3.6 billion. Talks between Bungie and Google apparently made "considerable" progress before the deal, but it remains unclear how the acquisition will impact Google's plans. Bungie has said it will keep supporting Stadia — Destiny 2 has been one of the service's marquee attractions — but Sony has an existing deal with Microsoft on cloud gaming infrastructure.

It's clear that Bungie and Sony's new partnership is as much about game IP as it is about building out live-service game infrastructure. PlayStation is planning to launch 10 live-service games in the next four years, with Bungie serving as a key partner on the initiative. Bungie was one of the earliest adopters of the games-as-a-service business model in 2014 with Destiny.

Bungie's experience in live-service games is something Sony plans to capitalize on and incorporate into its own IP, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said during the company's latest earnings call.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/guardian for IGN.

Destiny and former Halo developer Bungie was at one point considering launching its own game streaming platform, Business Insider reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

As part of a report about Google's attempts to course correct on its failing Stadia streaming service, Google reportedly pitched its tech to Bungie, which was already exploring its own potential streaming service. Under the white-label deal, Bungie would own content and control the front-end service, but Google technology would support the platform.

Of course, Sony recently announced a decision to purchase Bungie for $3.6 billion. Talks between Bungie and Google apparently made "considerable" progress before the deal, but it remains unclear how the acquisition will impact Google's plans. Bungie has said it will keep supporting Stadia — Destiny 2 has been one of the service's marquee attractions — but Sony has an existing deal with Microsoft on cloud gaming infrastructure.

It's clear that Bungie and Sony's new partnership is as much about game IP as it is about building out live-service game infrastructure. PlayStation is planning to launch 10 live-service games in the next four years, with Bungie serving as a key partner on the initiative. Bungie was one of the earliest adopters of the games-as-a-service business model in 2014 with Destiny.

Bungie's experience in live-service games is something Sony plans to capitalize on and incorporate into its own IP, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said during the company's latest earnings call.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/guardian for IGN.

Apex Legends has a new Limited Time Mode coming into Season 12: Defiance. I got to play a bit of it before launch and honestly it just makes me wish Titanfall 2 servers were functional again because it’s basically a Titanfall 2 multiplayer mode in Apex. Here’s how the mode works.

Control is basically like Domination. Two teams of nine compete to hold three different points. You’ll be given unlimited Syringes and Medkits to use to heal your base health throughout the match but your shield will regen on its own after eight seconds of you not taking any damage. You’ll have five different loadouts to choose from before spawning into the match and these options will change daily. You can customize the optics for the weapon sets you do choose, like you can in Arenas. These weapons you spawn with will have infinite ammo as well. Control is much faster than Battle Royale or Arenas since you do respawn after a short timer and it’s all about defending or attacking points. Controlling a zone will give you points every second and the more zones you have, the more points you get per second. The first team to reach the score of 1250 wins.

Control is pretty straight forward in terms of objectives but there will also be Timed Events where Capture Bonuses will put a one-time point award on a specific zone and a countdown timer will start. Once that timer hits zero and a team holds that specified zone, that team will earn a big bonus amount of points. Of course, throughout all of this, there will also be Care Package drops throughout the matches with weapons and armor on them but those weapons will run out of ammo like normal Care Package weapons in Battle Royale and Arenas. Controlling more zones also means you get more spawn points but you cannot spawn on the point closest to the enemy’s base. If you own the center zone and your own base, you can spawn on the middle point. But if the point closest to your team base is taken, you cannot spawn on the middle point and will have to spawn at your team base.

If your team owns all three points, the match will enter a Lockout where a timer is started and, if the controlling team can hold the Lockout until the timer hits zero, you can immediately win the game. However if any zone is taken out of control, it’ll cancel the lockout and the game will continue as normal.

In terms of a scoreboard, there’s a Rating system that sets the pace for team upgrades. There are three Rating tiers: Blue, Purple, and Gold. You can earn higher ratings with capturing zones, killing enemies, and assisting teammates. This will help your own rating so you can upgrade your weapons as you play. Unfortunately when you die these ratings do reset so you have to earn them back. If you hit max tier you can still earn more ratings to get more ultimate charges.

The maps available for Control will be Hammond Labs on Olympus and Barometer on Tropic. Tridents will still be available to use to get from point to point and additional zips and redeploy geysers will be strewn throughout the map. With the time I had for it, I honestly really enjoyed it. Control honestly feels like a Titanfall 2 mode and it just makes me want more multiplayer like this from Respawn. Or even just Titanfall 3. But for now, Control is an incredibly fun limited time mode that I hope stays a permanent mode.

Apex season 12 Defiance launches February 8th so be sure to keep it here at IGN for the full breakdown on all the season changes coming soon.

Apex Legends has a new Limited Time Mode coming into Season 12: Defiance. I got to play a bit of it before launch and honestly it just makes me wish Titanfall 2 servers were functional again because it’s basically a Titanfall 2 multiplayer mode in Apex. Here’s how the mode works.

Control is basically like Domination. Two teams of nine compete to hold three different points. You’ll be given unlimited Syringes and Medkits to use to heal your base health throughout the match but your shield will regen on its own after eight seconds of you not taking any damage. You’ll have five different loadouts to choose from before spawning into the match and these options will change daily. You can customize the optics for the weapon sets you do choose, like you can in Arenas. These weapons you spawn with will have infinite ammo as well. Control is much faster than Battle Royale or Arenas since you do respawn after a short timer and it’s all about defending or attacking points. Controlling a zone will give you points every second and the more zones you have, the more points you get per second. The first team to reach the score of 1250 wins.

Control is pretty straight forward in terms of objectives but there will also be Timed Events where Capture Bonuses will put a one-time point award on a specific zone and a countdown timer will start. Once that timer hits zero and a team holds that specified zone, that team will earn a big bonus amount of points. Of course, throughout all of this, there will also be Care Package drops throughout the matches with weapons and armor on them but those weapons will run out of ammo like normal Care Package weapons in Battle Royale and Arenas. Controlling more zones also means you get more spawn points but you cannot spawn on the point closest to the enemy’s base. If you own the center zone and your own base, you can spawn on the middle point. But if the point closest to your team base is taken, you cannot spawn on the middle point and will have to spawn at your team base.

If your team owns all three points, the match will enter a Lockout where a timer is started and, if the controlling team can hold the Lockout until the timer hits zero, you can immediately win the game. However if any zone is taken out of control, it’ll cancel the lockout and the game will continue as normal.

In terms of a scoreboard, there’s a Rating system that sets the pace for team upgrades. There are three Rating tiers: Blue, Purple, and Gold. You can earn higher ratings with capturing zones, killing enemies, and assisting teammates. This will help your own rating so you can upgrade your weapons as you play. Unfortunately when you die these ratings do reset so you have to earn them back. If you hit max tier you can still earn more ratings to get more ultimate charges.

The maps available for Control will be Hammond Labs on Olympus and Barometer on Tropic. Tridents will still be available to use to get from point to point and additional zips and redeploy geysers will be strewn throughout the map. With the time I had for it, I honestly really enjoyed it. Control honestly feels like a Titanfall 2 mode and it just makes me want more multiplayer like this from Respawn. Or even just Titanfall 3. But for now, Control is an incredibly fun limited time mode that I hope stays a permanent mode.

Apex season 12 Defiance launches February 8th so be sure to keep it here at IGN for the full breakdown on all the season changes coming soon.