On November 16, the Wall Street Journal reported that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick knew about the sexual assault and misconduct allegations happening at the company but did not disclose that info to the company's board. Just three days later, on November 19, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer initiated a call with Kotick that would lead to Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.

These details and more were revealed in a regulatory filing that was shared via CNBC and show that Spencer had been discussing "a different topic" before telling Kotick that Microsoft wanted to talk to him about strategic opportunities between the two companies.

"On November 19, 2021, in the course of a conversation on a different topic between Mr. Spencer and Mr. Kotick, Mr. Spencer raised that Microsoft was interested in discussing strategic opportunities between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft and asked whether it would be possible to have a call with Mr. Nadella the following day. Mr. Kotick agreed to participate in such discussion," the filing reads. "In a call on November 20, 2021, between Messrs. Kotick and Nadella, Mr. Nadella indicated that Microsoft was interested in exploring a strategic combination with Activision Blizzard."

On November 18, Spencer sent an e-mail to staff saying he is "disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions" at Activision Blizzard and that he is "evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing proactive adjustments."

On November 26, Microsoft presented an initial offer of $80 per share - which would have been a 32% premium of Activision Blizzard stock price on November 25 - but the two companies would negotiate and the price would rise to $95 per share.

While the deal was officially announced on January 18, the filing states that Kotick had reached out to "a handful of other companies before the announcement" and that an unnamed person had even discussed purchasing the Blizzard part of Activision Blizzard or making parts or all of Activision Blizzard private.

Elsewhere in the filing, it is also says that Microsoft would have to pay anywhere from $2 billion to $3 billion if the deal falls through due to an "injunction arising from antitrust laws." Additionally, a list of "shares of Activision Blizzard common stock beneficially owned" shows that Kotick currently owns 4,317,285 million shares. If he were to leave the company and be bought out, he could gain, according to the $95 per share price, $410,142,075.

WSJ previously noted that sources familiar with the deal say that Kotick will leave the company following the completion of the deal when it closes in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

On November 16, the Wall Street Journal reported that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick knew about the sexual assault and misconduct allegations happening at the company but did not disclose that info to the company's board. Just three days later, on November 19, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer initiated a call with Kotick that would lead to Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.

These details and more were revealed in a regulatory filing that was shared via CNBC and show that Spencer had been discussing "a different topic" before telling Kotick that Microsoft wanted to talk to him about strategic opportunities between the two companies.

"On November 19, 2021, in the course of a conversation on a different topic between Mr. Spencer and Mr. Kotick, Mr. Spencer raised that Microsoft was interested in discussing strategic opportunities between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft and asked whether it would be possible to have a call with Mr. Nadella the following day. Mr. Kotick agreed to participate in such discussion," the filing reads. "In a call on November 20, 2021, between Messrs. Kotick and Nadella, Mr. Nadella indicated that Microsoft was interested in exploring a strategic combination with Activision Blizzard."

On November 18, Spencer sent an e-mail to staff saying he is "disturbed and deeply troubled by the horrific events and actions" at Activision Blizzard and that he is "evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard and making ongoing proactive adjustments."

On November 26, Microsoft presented an initial offer of $80 per share - which would have been a 32% premium of Activision Blizzard stock price on November 25 - but the two companies would negotiate and the price would rise to $95 per share.

While the deal was officially announced on January 18, the filing states that Kotick had reached out to "a handful of other companies before the announcement" and that an unnamed person had even discussed purchasing the Blizzard part of Activision Blizzard or making parts or all of Activision Blizzard private.

Elsewhere in the filing, it is also says that Microsoft would have to pay anywhere from $2 billion to $3 billion if the deal falls through due to an "injunction arising from antitrust laws." Additionally, a list of "shares of Activision Blizzard common stock beneficially owned" shows that Kotick currently owns 4,317,285 million shares. If he were to leave the company and be bought out, he could gain, according to the $95 per share price, $410,142,075.

WSJ previously noted that sources familiar with the deal say that Kotick will leave the company following the completion of the deal when it closes in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki Yoshida has confirmed that he and the team have no intentions of incorporating NFTs into the MMO. What Final Fantasy 14 will be getting, however, is a visual upgrade and the return of its free trial.

As reported by Fanbyte, Yoshida was speaking through Square Enix translator Aimi Tokutake and said that, based on how FF14 is designed, he and the team have no plan on trying out NFTs in it.

"Based on how Final Fantasy XIV is designed, we don’t intend on incorporating any sort of NFT element in the game at this point," Yoshida said. “If anybody is worried or concerned about it, I can clearly state at this time that we do not have any intentions to incorporate that into the game.”

Yoshida also commented on the controversial letter from Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda that was focused on the company's growing focus on NFTs, blockchain games, and the metaverse.

"We did notice a lot of reactions, especially from the Western [audience] about NFTs, many comments about how [they’re] opposed to NFTs,” Yoshida said. “I do understand our CEO [Yosuke] Matsuda commented on the concept of NFTs in his New Year’s message, and there might be a little bit of sensitivity and nervousness around the topic.”

Yoshida continued to say that he wasn't fully opposed to the idea of exploring the NFT space, just not in Final Fantasy 14.

"I would love if there is an opportunity to speak to the subject of NFTs in an interview that is completely unrelated to FFXIV, because it is an opportunity for a new business model,” Yoshida said. “I do believe the vehicle itself could potentially be something that makes the concept of a video game a little bit more interesting. That being said, we would need a specific game design that would accommodate for the concept of NFTs.”

Final Fantasy 14 Will Soon Get a Visual Upgrade and the Return of Its Free Trial

While Final Fantasy 14 won't get NFTs, it will be getting its first major visual upgrades in Patch 7.0 and beyond.

Yoshida shared that the team wants to address the "overall picture" of Final Fantasy 14. While the "new graphics will not be comparable to standalone titles," there will be meaningful updates to textures, lighting, and shaders.

It will be a bit of a wait until Patch 7.0, however, as Patch 6.1 is currently scheduled for April 2022.

What players won't have to wait long for will be the return of the free trial on February 22, 2022. Following the release of Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker, Square Enix halted the sales of the game and stopped the creation of free trial accounts to help alleviate the server load that was massive server queues. This week, they will be back.

For more, check out our Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker review and see where FF14 ranks on our list of the 10 best MMORPGs.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki Yoshida has confirmed that he and the team have no intentions of incorporating NFTs into the MMO. What Final Fantasy 14 will be getting, however, is a visual upgrade and the return of its free trial.

As reported by Fanbyte, Yoshida was speaking through Square Enix translator Aimi Tokutake and said that, based on how FF14 is designed, he and the team have no plan on trying out NFTs in it.

"Based on how Final Fantasy XIV is designed, we don’t intend on incorporating any sort of NFT element in the game at this point," Yoshida said. “If anybody is worried or concerned about it, I can clearly state at this time that we do not have any intentions to incorporate that into the game.”

Yoshida also commented on the controversial letter from Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda that was focused on the company's growing focus on NFTs, blockchain games, and the metaverse.

"We did notice a lot of reactions, especially from the Western [audience] about NFTs, many comments about how [they’re] opposed to NFTs,” Yoshida said. “I do understand our CEO [Yosuke] Matsuda commented on the concept of NFTs in his New Year’s message, and there might be a little bit of sensitivity and nervousness around the topic.”

Yoshida continued to say that he wasn't fully opposed to the idea of exploring the NFT space, just not in Final Fantasy 14.

"I would love if there is an opportunity to speak to the subject of NFTs in an interview that is completely unrelated to FFXIV, because it is an opportunity for a new business model,” Yoshida said. “I do believe the vehicle itself could potentially be something that makes the concept of a video game a little bit more interesting. That being said, we would need a specific game design that would accommodate for the concept of NFTs.”

Final Fantasy 14 Will Soon Get a Visual Upgrade and the Return of Its Free Trial

While Final Fantasy 14 won't get NFTs, it will be getting its first major visual upgrades in Patch 7.0 and beyond.

Yoshida shared that the team wants to address the "overall picture" of Final Fantasy 14. While the "new graphics will not be comparable to standalone titles," there will be meaningful updates to textures, lighting, and shaders.

It will be a bit of a wait until Patch 7.0, however, as Patch 6.1 is currently scheduled for April 2022.

What players won't have to wait long for will be the return of the free trial on February 22, 2022. Following the release of Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker, Square Enix halted the sales of the game and stopped the creation of free trial accounts to help alleviate the server load that was massive server queues. This week, they will be back.

For more, check out our Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker review and see where FF14 ranks on our list of the 10 best MMORPGs.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

After 6 years and two updates, Capcom is finally moving on from Street Fighter 5 and has officially announced Street Fighter 6.

As teased through a countdown website, Capcom has officially announced Street Fighter 6 following the end of the Capcom Pro Tour fighting game exhibition. The countdown was supposed to end at 9 pm PST but remained locked until the end of the stream.

Capcom says more info for Street Fighter 6 is coming this summer.

The short teaser revealed a beefed-up Ryu as he faces Luke, the 45th and final character for Street Fighter 5 who was teased to be in the sequel. The announcement for Street Fighter 6 also coincided with the 35th anniversary of the franchise.

Capcom also announced the Capcom Fighting Collection, an anthology of 10 classic titles including the full Darkstalkers series. The Capcom Fighting Collection will be released on June 24, 2022, for PS4, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Xbox One.

The next game in Capcom's marquis fighting game series will follow one of the most turbulent entries in the Street Fighter series. The initial response to Street Fighter 5 was tepid, though subsequent updates like Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition and Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition were better received.

Development on Street Fighter 6 was partially leaked during Capcom's massive data breach alongside other games like Dragon's Dogma 2.

Street Fighter 6 will be developed with the involvement of longtime Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono, who left Capcom last year after almost 30 years with the company.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

After 6 years and two updates, Capcom is finally moving on from Street Fighter 5 and has officially announced Street Fighter 6.

As teased through a countdown website, Capcom has officially announced Street Fighter 6 following the end of the Capcom Pro Tour fighting game exhibition. The countdown was supposed to end at 9 pm PST but remained locked until the end of the stream.

Capcom says more info for Street Fighter 6 is coming this summer.

The short teaser revealed a beefed-up Ryu as he faces Luke, the 45th and final character for Street Fighter 5 who was teased to be in the sequel. The announcement for Street Fighter 6 also coincided with the 35th anniversary of the franchise.

Capcom also announced the Capcom Fighting Collection, an anthology of 10 classic titles including the full Darkstalkers series. The Capcom Fighting Collection will be released on June 24, 2022, for PS4, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Xbox One.

The next game in Capcom's marquis fighting game series will follow one of the most turbulent entries in the Street Fighter series. The initial response to Street Fighter 5 was tepid, though subsequent updates like Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition and Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition were better received.

Development on Street Fighter 6 was partially leaked during Capcom's massive data breach alongside other games like Dragon's Dogma 2.

Street Fighter 6 will be developed with the involvement of longtime Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono, who left Capcom last year after almost 30 years with the company.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Cheating has been a huge problem in Call of Duty: Warzone, but a new anti-cheat measure will now give non-cheating players a "Damage Shield" that will prevent ne'er-do-wells from inflicting critical damage on them.

In a new blog, the team behind Call of Duty: Warzone shared details on new updates coming to its RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system that "relies on data to identify cheating behavior and make our banwaves more impactful." One of these new features is called Damage Shield, and it's an in-game way to not only stop cheaters from winning matches or killing players, but also to learn more about the cheater and stop them from doing so again.

"One mitigation technique we’ve been testing is something we call Damage Shield," the blog reads. "When the server detects a cheater is tampering with the game in real-time, it disables the cheater’s ability to inflict critical damage on other players. This mitigation leaves the cheater vulnerable to real players and allows #TeamRICOCHET to collect information about a cheater’s system.

"We track these encounters to ensure there is no possibility for the game to apply a Damage Shield randomly or by accident, no matter the skill level. To be clear, we will never interfere in gunfights between law-abiding community members. Damage Shield is now out of testing and deployed across the globe."

There are other mitigations in the works, but the team isn't ready to reveal them yet as it doesn't want to "ruin the surprise" for unsuspecting cheaters.

It was also announced that "extreme, or repeated violations of the security policy – such as in-game cheating – may result in a permanent suspension of all accounts." Whereas before this was only applied to Call of Duty: Vanguard, cheaters will now be banned from modern and future Call of Duty titles going forward.

Furthermore, any attempt to "hide, disguise, or obfuscate your identity or the identity of your hardware devices may also result in a permanent suspension."

All of these changes are sure to be welcome ones, especially as Activision is gearing up to release both Warzone 2 and a sequel to 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare this year.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Cheating has been a huge problem in Call of Duty: Warzone, but a new anti-cheat measure will now give non-cheating players a "Damage Shield" that will prevent ne'er-do-wells from inflicting critical damage on them.

In a new blog, the team behind Call of Duty: Warzone shared details on new updates coming to its RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system that "relies on data to identify cheating behavior and make our banwaves more impactful." One of these new features is called Damage Shield, and it's an in-game way to not only stop cheaters from winning matches or killing players, but also to learn more about the cheater and stop them from doing so again.

"One mitigation technique we’ve been testing is something we call Damage Shield," the blog reads. "When the server detects a cheater is tampering with the game in real-time, it disables the cheater’s ability to inflict critical damage on other players. This mitigation leaves the cheater vulnerable to real players and allows #TeamRICOCHET to collect information about a cheater’s system.

"We track these encounters to ensure there is no possibility for the game to apply a Damage Shield randomly or by accident, no matter the skill level. To be clear, we will never interfere in gunfights between law-abiding community members. Damage Shield is now out of testing and deployed across the globe."

There are other mitigations in the works, but the team isn't ready to reveal them yet as it doesn't want to "ruin the surprise" for unsuspecting cheaters.

It was also announced that "extreme, or repeated violations of the security policy – such as in-game cheating – may result in a permanent suspension of all accounts." Whereas before this was only applied to Call of Duty: Vanguard, cheaters will now be banned from modern and future Call of Duty titles going forward.

Furthermore, any attempt to "hide, disguise, or obfuscate your identity or the identity of your hardware devices may also result in a permanent suspension."

All of these changes are sure to be welcome ones, especially as Activision is gearing up to release both Warzone 2 and a sequel to 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare this year.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Uncharted movie has struck gold with a $44.1 million domestic weekend box office victory, and the Tom Holland-led video game adaptation is expected to earn a total of $52 million through the President's Day holiday.

As reported by Variety, Uncharted also earned another $55.4 million overseas, bringing its global total to $139 million. This is more than enough to cover its production budget of $120 million.

In our Uncharted review, which is currently only available in theaters, we said, "Uncharted is a safe but serviceable sampling of a new globe-spanning adventure. As a young Nathan Drake, Tom Holland is fun to watch and has good chemistry with Mark Wahlberg’s Victor Sullivan, even if their antagonists are pretty forgettable and the story never thinks outside the treasure chest box."

As Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes' Erik Davis notes, Uncharted had the fourth highest-grossing video game film opening weekend of all time in North America. While it surpassed Angry Birds' $38 million, it failed to pass Tomb Raider (2001)'s $47 million, Detective Pikachu's $54 million, and Sonic the Hedgehog's $58 million.

Dog, which stars Channing Tatum as a former Army Ranger who is driving down the Pacific Coast with his dog to make it to a fellow soldier's funeral on time, took second place with $15.1 million. This is already enough to cover its budget of $15 million, and it undoubtedly helped that it came with the tagline, "Don't worry, the dog doesn't die."

Not content with just having the #1 film of the weekend, Holland also secured the #3 spot as Spider-Man: No Way Home's $7.2 million in ticket sales was enough to get it there. Spider-Man: No Way Home's domestic total has now reached $771.74 million and that is more than enough to make it the third highest-grossing domestic film of all time.

Death on the Nile placed fourth with $6.3 million, bringing its global total to $90 million. Jackass Forever rounded out the top five with $5.2 million and passed the $47 million mark domestically.

For more Uncharted, check out our explainer on the ending and post-credits scene and how the film features fight moves "stolen straight from the games."

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Uncharted movie has struck gold with a $44.1 million domestic weekend box office victory, and the Tom Holland-led video game adaptation is expected to earn a total of $52 million through the President's Day holiday.

As reported by Variety, Uncharted also earned another $55.4 million overseas, bringing its global total to $139 million. This is more than enough to cover its production budget of $120 million.

In our Uncharted review, which is currently only available in theaters, we said, "Uncharted is a safe but serviceable sampling of a new globe-spanning adventure. As a young Nathan Drake, Tom Holland is fun to watch and has good chemistry with Mark Wahlberg’s Victor Sullivan, even if their antagonists are pretty forgettable and the story never thinks outside the treasure chest box."

As Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes' Erik Davis notes, Uncharted had the fourth highest-grossing video game film opening weekend of all time in North America. While it surpassed Angry Birds' $38 million, it failed to pass Tomb Raider (2001)'s $47 million, Detective Pikachu's $54 million, and Sonic the Hedgehog's $58 million.

Dog, which stars Channing Tatum as a former Army Ranger who is driving down the Pacific Coast with his dog to make it to a fellow soldier's funeral on time, took second place with $15.1 million. This is already enough to cover its budget of $15 million, and it undoubtedly helped that it came with the tagline, "Don't worry, the dog doesn't die."

Not content with just having the #1 film of the weekend, Holland also secured the #3 spot as Spider-Man: No Way Home's $7.2 million in ticket sales was enough to get it there. Spider-Man: No Way Home's domestic total has now reached $771.74 million and that is more than enough to make it the third highest-grossing domestic film of all time.

Death on the Nile placed fourth with $6.3 million, bringing its global total to $90 million. Jackass Forever rounded out the top five with $5.2 million and passed the $47 million mark domestically.

For more Uncharted, check out our explainer on the ending and post-credits scene and how the film features fight moves "stolen straight from the games."

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.