Activision Blizzard Q4 2018 Earnings Summary: It's Not Good.

[@TipsOutBaby]

Can't wait to play Diablo immortal, Pokemon warcraft, and Hello kitty cooking adventure on mobile in 2019.

[@Spinexus]

I there a vod? Wanna see everything!^^ Edit: nvm found it!

[@Rohirrim009]

I love the sarcasm there tips lol

[@ryangardner7709]

The industry now caters to kids playing Fortnite and buying dances for real money, the new “gaming”generation thinks(why work for when you can buy what you want). We the old-school neck beards rpgs fans, are looked at like a thing of the past.... well I for one am going to gank as many filthy casual kids in classic as I can tell the game is over run with micro transactions to help them out....after that. Rip blizzard ( just hard to let go of a thing you loved) 😭😭😭

[@mastrogiacomo3303]

No joke I hate that there making mobile games but if I had the choice, I would pick Pokémon warcraft lol

[@haydencurnutte8885]

I'm ready to jam on some Diablo!

[@iambarnowl]

Honestly, I don't care what ActiBliz does anymore with games or what their new marketing and game building strategy is going to be. If that's mobile and microtransactions, fine. I was once a Blizzard fan, but I'm not not now and will never be again. I'm just a Classic fan and don't give a crap about the company anymore. If Classic is decent, great. That's all I care about. If not, I'll find a private server and never give ActiBliz another cent.

[@riotdrone]

having any loyalty towards a corporation is a bad move every time

[@jake06750]

Yeah I’m not loyal to any game company either. I just care if the games they make are good. I want Classic to be successful not because I have an iota of loyalty or care for Activision/Blizzard but because I see the passion and dedication fans of old WoW like myself have for the game and believe it will be successful. However I’m not going to go in with massively high expectations. If Activision gets involved and interferes Blizzard will have lost me on the one thing that could possibly bring me back to the Warcraft universe after almost 3 years.

[@DR-ts4eh]

same here and true for many. Current Private Servers will experience huge inflow of people and new fresh servers will emerge.

[@cabo1barman]

You hit the nail, thats what we are all thinking...

[@VikkturrGaming]

Agreed and couldn't have said it better myself.

[@orly2663]

I cant wait until they add billboards in Orgrimmar advertising activision products and services

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

Lol, everytime you want to use the zeppelin you have to watch a 20 second add on whatever bullshit Activision wants you to buy

[@AvatarofHate]

lol, don t give them ideas :D

[@Faxy95]

@@HamsterWheelGaming Calm down Satan 😂

[@Winth3r]

Or use orcs to form letters, just like goldsellers :D

[@AvatarofHate]

lol

[@DRourk]

A company laying off their customer support is a clear indication that the company has lost any appreciation for their customers.

[@Dularr]

Wrong. They automate the back office processes and layoff people pushing papers around. Then hire more game developers.

[@lovelyoats3884]

@@Dularr Except Blizzard was made excellent by its Developers, AND its communication staff that built a strong trust from its community. Blizzard just cut off half of what made them unique.

[@Dularr]

@@lovelyoats3884 Those developer are long gone. The current batch of developers still need to prove themselves. Communications was never a strong Blizzard skill.

[@emperorcip9756]

Well then don't buy their products. Simple.

[@unclephil4112]

@@Dularr Automated costumer support is only marginally better than outsourcing to Indians who can barely speak English.

[@felaryn4879]

I'm worried for Classic

[@Lianthian]

it's not gonna be Vanilla, but Vanilla with sprinkles.

[@hallo-mt5tx]

there is no reason to trust anything they say activision is just blatantly lying about call of duty as well they often times promised to not put in loot boxes into a specific game and silently put them in after the game reached its sales peak they did the exact same thing with the modern warfare 1 remaster and lied out of their asses

[@Alarycia]

They really need to take it out of activision's hands if they want it to be successful, the only way that jagex could bring people back to their classic servers is literally promising that no runescape 3 employees will ever be involved, and everything that is to enter the game must be polled and pass with at least 75%

[@gladiatorwheeliecool3097]

classics gonna have loot boxes u can pay for with real money to alter loot drops from bosses

[@felaryn4879]

@@Alarycia Unfortunately I don't think the Blizzard we all know and love exists anymore, this was made very clear when Morhaime stepped down and we immediately saw an increase in the amount of mounts being added to the store and HotS eSports being cancelled (even though it was the right decision they said was more in 2019 and didn't live up to that promise). Vanilla may not be Vanilla in a few years even in Blizzard's hands and that makes me worried.

[@matthewbolton4289]

Why doesnt blizzard just get out from underneath activision. Blizzard has done NOTHING but go down hill ever since the merge. Its just sad 😥

[@animalm4st3r]

they didnt go downhill in terms of moneymaking and by now they will stick with it

[@Hifcrea]

They most likely are tied up in contracts like bungie was. I would love for that to happen but honestly retail wow has run its course entirely. The only thing in wow that would matter would be starting again at classic retail and pushing up to atleast Wotlk. other that the only thing that would help would be to rehaul wow and create a new game. wow 2.0.

[@cloudstrife2131]

Blizzard is now J Allen Brack and Allen Adam, do you think they give a shit really..........

[@gamergod9182]

This isn't just a simply publishing contract like it was with Bungie, Blizzard are properly owned by Acti-Blizz. Keep in mind that Blizzard had been owned by holding companies since 1994 (back when they weren't even called Blizzard). They always had to answer to investors.

[@mistermanji]

Yeah, they will just buy back all those shares with the billions in magical fantasy bucks they have laying around...

[@edowelm]

As always, ACTIVISION Blizzard worrying only about the money and not their consumers. Classic WoW for me is their last chance. Put any extra microtransactions or change/put anything that ruins the game and I will not play anything of this "company" anymore. Let's hope a miracle happens :(

[@Sniperkitten971]

It's funny because last time I checked, WE were the ones paying. If Classic isn't good, they'll get a massive kick in the balls...

[@edowelm]

@@Sniperkitten971 And we're gonna be paying again if they make fun and great videogames. Sadly, there's a lot of people than doesn't mind paying like crazy for instant gratification, stupid pets/skins and boosts/other character services, so because they pay more than us, companies ignore us, the loyal fans than made their company be where they're today.

[@Sniperkitten971]

@@edowelm yep, eastern market for one...

[@Sniperkitten971]

I dream about a new company made by ex Blizzard employees..

[@edowelm]

@@Sniperkitten971 Well, there's a bit of hope in other MMO's in development like Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen.

[@Mr.Notorious]

I hope Blizzard returns to tradition. So much learned in the Vanilla to wrath experience and it was all forgotten so quickly. The community should push to get J Allen Brack on a stream to lay out all the issues and desires moving forward. But we all know that won't happen. The sooner a up and coming company decides to pick up the torch blizzard dropped, they'll strike gold.

[@physixtential]

Layoffs are a good and healthy necessity guys... A good company lays off people when they dont need them, and highers them when they do. We often see news about bliz job openings and get excited about what it means for future games/expansions. It is unreasonable to expect a company to just let all those people sit around doing nothing once the development, advertising, and support reduces in demand. Also, did it occur to anyone that maybe they got rid of a lot of people who contribute to the current issues? Layoffs does not equal bad. Off topic: for anyone wondering if sharding will be in the game, count on it 100% at launch.

[@physixtential]

@@CryptoDiveInsights thats very presumptuous. There are obvious healthy reasons for both of those things to happen. Maybe it is what you think, but it is not the most likely scenario.

[@Andrew-ss2pr]

WoW classic is Blizz's last hope. If they mess this up, they are doomed as a company and the sooner they realize this, the better for everyone.

[@noctusowl]

Blizzard is no longer a company. Hasn't been for years. Just a brand.

[@marcjansson1039]

Anyone that thinks rightclick reports are a good idea for classic is really naive. Vanilla was a totally different experience and should stay that way.

[@davidalangay1186]

I can understand layoffs if a company is doing poorly. Layoffs and restructuring is a way to stem the bleeding since salaries and benefits are a big operating cost. When a company is doing well, very well, but still lays off staff, that's a problem for me -- particularly when a line executive got a hike in pay.

[@_kyt_]

Seeing the Community Managers get let go, their twitters filled with "looking 4 job" messages - makes me emotional - and watching other companies, like EA, immediately swoop in saying "WE want you" - makes me even more emotional. I didn't think I'd be so conflicted -- I want Classic, but I don't want to support Activision and their business practices. I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling this way, and that unfortunately makes the decision to remain on private servers all the easier.

[@manoqueenz]

Hopefully, Classic will actually be true to #nochanges in the beginning. At least then, future private servers can copy them faithfully and fill in the current blanks, of which there are many. I'll jump ship when Activision introduces microtransactions.

[@hughjazz4936]

Most people here aren't businessmen so I'll try to give an easy explanation for Activision's behaviour: Times are good, you hire people. Times are bad (and they are), you lay off people. Who should be laid off? The people running the show? No. It's usually the poor souls in service (like community managers) because they're expandable and easily replacable. Sorry to say this, but it's a sad fact. I myself was unfortunate enough to have to make decisions like that. This way you ensure that the 92% keep their jobs because shareholders or banks (in my case) shut up. Remember, banks and shareholders can mess up a company pretty quickly, you absolutely need to keep them satisfied.

[@alicedunstan1441]

blood sucking shareholders ruined it all.

[@hughjazz4936]

@@alicedunstan1441 That's how capitalism works, I'm afraid. Companies need money to grow (faster) and most of the things you own were developed and built by companies who, at some point, needed cash to grow. Organic growth without any outside cash makes companies more independent and stable but it takes a long time. It's a [Double-Edged Sword of the Windseeker].

[@Selfhigh5Tv]

@@hughjazz4936 Capitalism eats itself. Broken system.

[@remyd8767]

@@alicedunstan1441 that's what you get for becoming a public company.

[@Alarycia]

So why is Blizzard- Activision pretty much re-enacting what happened to Runescape? The doubling down on MTX and pushing money over player satisfaction? They've seen the exact consequences of this situation happen years ago with RS3 , but classic isn't going to be active damage control like the 07 servers if it's not taken out of Blizzard-Activision's hands, and not to mention it's not even out yet nor is it in a consistent public testing stage. It's like watching your older sibling do drugs and dangerous shit only to follow them on purpose later.

[@patrickstarshooter5221]

Good. I hope they go bankrupt. They clearly don't care about their games.

[@slayanterallica]

Was there because you specified the time yesterday in your video ! Im happy you hit 2k + !

[@lowkey2350]

Respect, you actually kept it UNDER 10min, despite having been able to take it over that threshold for ads!

[@temetnosce2099]

That thumbnail isn't photoshopped.

[@Jkg71]

They don't bother hiding it anymore.

[@Ensid1993]

paradoxically when blizzard didnt care about money and had strategy to just make epic games they were at the top, they had everything. when they decided to care only about money and took strategies around that concept they lost 50% of community

[@cameronsands6538]

That is very true. Vanilla was great without the extra micro transactions. I still remember seeing the original game box " 8 million subscriptions." That was before BC! Bc was great but I think we can all agree when it first dropped and you ran into hellfire, picked up a level 61 green that replaced your epic or blue. That was the most frustrating part

[@Ensid1993]

@@cameronsands6538 I dont care about microtransactions tbh because Blizzard dont force me to spend my money on store's stuff as long as it doesnt affect game. I mean mounts, pets, and basically cosmetics. But if they decided to do stuff like shop with items for money, +exp boost etc it'd destroy the game. I agree that when you stepped into HFP and take first item it immediately replaced your epic from vanilla but it had pros and cons. Why? There're two options: A) you take first item and replace it your current epic. This was retail situation. It sucked that you had to replace your tier sets so fast etc B) You start chaning gear during dungeons. And then people would complain that they added new expansion in which they dont even get any gear, dont feel the character improvement, that they need to reach max level, run some dungeons to start replacing gear. It's hard to say. If I had Tier 3 set and then run HFP maybe I wouldnt like to replace all items with any that green that dropped, but maybe around second and/or third zone (zangarmarsh/terokkar forest) items from quests would start to be better than my current gear. So the transition would be smoother imho

[@cameronsands6538]

@@Ensid1993 I agree, I think most replacements for vanilla great should have occurred in the zones after hfp. Maybe one or two from hfp, but it seemed I replaced 95% of vanilla gear in hfp.

[@a-lie-n]

The OG blizzard sold out and merged with activision. That's where it all went downhill

[@JS-ws3np]

Emotional post dude. Well done as always. Long time fan. Much love

[@madlad4687]

I rather Play Classic on a private Server than giving Blizzard any Money.

[@conanmcclanahan1069]

Great video man. I've seen you in the space for quite a while but hadn't really watched many video's outside of some of your Vanilla/Classic content. But hearing your breakdown of this information is easily the best stated and most concise version I could possibly expect to find. They're doing nothing but pissing on their customers. It's unfortunate Blizzard seems to have gone from a player-driven utopia to a shareholder-driven wasteland.

[@TheNEPTY]

I think we should start a crowd funded campaign to free blizzards from the mangled rancid hands of Activision.

[@ttdMrGrin]

Well, Im done supporting these kind of business models, and wont buy games that do have these kind of practices. Games like Warframe and Path of Exile are free to play and have mtx to finance its business. (and has a really fair one at that) But when AAA games start to take your money to get the product and then lock things in the game behind paywalls to access more, to milk ous, that's when we as consumers has to say no. Don't support this trend, stop buy from them, if not, well then you're to blame for there success.

[@JaesNSC]

Ill just keep telling myself Classic wont have lvl 50 boosts and wow tokens... 🤥

[@bobojangles7363]

if by some god awful chance it does, its gonna be once people are already 60, you will see a difference in who boosts and who doesnt right away. My friend couldnt make a raid on his priest back in the day and asked me to do it. They figured out pretty fast I wasnt him and replaced me in the raid.

[@claremyssterium4061]

I'm wondering now if I even want to give Blizzard money regardless of how good Classic WoW might be because they will just use it to fund other crap in the future as they phase out the Gamers that made the company great.

[@thelostmemories]

A friend, and I got to talking the other day about Classic. As much as we don't like it, we pretty much agree that Classic will have an an-game shop in time. Selling toys, noncombat pets, (using the scapegoat "It doesn't effect gameplay") and I'm willing to lean towards mounts as well, not at launch no. But down the line. I would imagine if they do add mounts it will work similar to the initial mount system. You have to buy riding, but to buy the in-game mount you need to fork over in-game gold, on top of real life money as to not cheat the original system

[@Scottzone]

Meanwhile Yoshi P dressing up as a Gunbreaker for their fanfest. F's for Blizzard :(

[@FreedomAtRisk]

Stock was down after they released their numbers now it’s up, need to listen to the call myself. Either way, this stock, even after losing 50%, is VERY expensive

[@TipsOutBaby]

The stock is up because investors got exactly what they wanted; Further investment into mobile games, further monetization of in-game services (microtransactions), and a hard-line global strategy to cater to eastern markets.

[@jordanjandreau7380]

I think stock function is also a function of how many total stocks there are that make up ownership of a company. I don't know the numbers, but some companies have thousands of stocks and some have millions.

[@raknaskihtrak8266]

@@TipsOutBaby people who own large chunks should be perceptive enough to wait out until things stabilizes and sell theirs , so yeah the impact of Q4 2018 earnings report would start showing much later when Activision Blizzard is out of news cycle .

[@dabush6380]

Not sure whats up but I was having a problem seeing your videos, I actually had to search for your channel and as I started watching this video I realized I had to re-sub to your channel... Just did but i know for a fact I have been subbed for some time now. Regardless keep up the good content friend.

[@peter486]

the question is, Do you what to support the cancer in the industry by subbing and handing over your cash to this company.i know they will offer classic but after listing to the podcast yesterday i felt almost sick in my heart.

[@Greg-gy7cd]

Really shines a light on the situation, this over monetization will hopefully come back to bite this company in the ass. Its a shame they still have classic, but if that follows suit with their microtransaction practices then hopefully that is the nail in the coffin for this disappointing company I used to believe in!

[@Lorcar12]

That's sad, even if Classic should remain unchanged by some miracle, I'm very discouraged from playing it, because that means giving money to ActivisionBlizzard and that just physically hurts. I would love to give the money to a team that deserves it, like a passionate indie company, or Nostalrius staff.. but this is almost like paying voluntary additional taxes because you love your goverment so much.

[@maluminse6912]

I used to work in the legal field and a term that got used a lot to explain behavior like Activision-Blizzard was "willfully ignorant" Choosing to be ignorant to the glaring issue in hopes: A) It will eventually solve itself or B) When it finally explodes they can claim they had no idea the community was so outraged the entire time. Ignorance is bliss, Blizzard.

[@Elgar337]

Great videos, keep it up mate. I like the ending music. Where do you hail from?

[@darrenm.herrick5285]

I love the clip of 'Alas, Andorhal.' That was always one of my favorites to do. Buy you a beer Tips at the 'Gallows' End Tavern' whenever your in town. Cheers!

[@DoctorJohnSmith9]

It's hard to see one of the nicest guys around sound so down in one of his vids. Keep up those hopes, my man.

[@ch-arts-us]

all they have to do is make the classic the way we want it. then LEARN from it and make similar games that are NEW! I love me some Deadmines all the way to MC but imagine a new raid or dungeon in the classic style. it would be unstoppable!

[@W4lkst4r]

Thanks for a good stream Tips!

[@vincentvega8321]

Ghuls riding invisible skateboards starting 3:46 right lower corner, fancy stuff !

[@Oliver-nt8pw]

I dont get it, it is not that hard to understand that micro-transactions are good way of making money, but if there is no strong foundation => a GOOD GAME, than no-one will care about them. They kind of forgetting that they need to put the effort into making those good games first with content and stuff.

[@nestamartin210]

I'm sorry to say what I'm about to say but it must be said. First and for most I love Vanilla W.O.W it's dear to me. But if Activision Blizz fail to keep their promise I will not hesitate to discontinue the use of their products and services by speaking with my wallet. I also heard that Final Fantasy 14 is serviving this storm that has been hitting mmo's of late. But ya no changes or I quit, simple as that. Blizz must realize they are not the only hero in 2019 and make us/give us a reason to believe in them again. Actions speak louder than apologies.

[@horsemumbler1]

*foremost

[@Jkg71]

Is it any coincidence that AAA gaming companies and tech "journalist" sites that frequently bend the knee to Sjw rhetoric are experiencing layoffs?

[@Golemoid]

nope, its free market at work

[@Photosynthesisbeing]

Stick to the private servers boys, classic ain't looking good. They are just stringing you on for more micro transactions.

[@cameronsands6538]

Yeah there's a good chance they will throw some micro transactions in classic. Though I cling to one of the first announcements when they said they don't care if 100 people play the game or 100,000. They just want to make the game for the gamers who remember vanilla the way it was.

[@Fiery891]

I am 100% certain Warcraft 3 was remake instead of remaster only so they can add a microtransaction store for unit skins.

[@hqguard2]

After all those years, I'm not playing ANY blizzard game anymore starting today

[@Darkeurio]

Not as good as expected... it was pretty much what I did expect. "No improvements more cash grabs." That's all I can think when it comes to Blizzard nowadays.

[@Baughscollection]

Aw man... "Activision" blizzard... There is your problem

[@PaulRoneClarke]

So they are a mobile games company now. That's fine. Personally. I'm not and will never be a phone gamer. I find playing phone games very uncomfortable, awkward and hard to control. I have large hands and find controlling a game even on a big phone too difficult. So that means they no longer make games for me. They aren't the same company they were ten years ago. Time to move on. There are other developers than these. They are perfectly allowed to monetise however they like. I'm perfectly allowed not to buy and play these products.

[@cameronsands6538]

I'm with you. Small devices and big hands don't mix. Controls are awkward and inefficient. The only game I could play on mobile of blizzards is Hearth stone. And even that though isn't the same because it's the mobile version.

[@corywilliamsmith]

Wow. I all of a sudden feel like that creepy guy who's been waiting around 15 years for the girl who said "let's just take a break" and never talked to me ever again.

[@korkone1193]

Thanks Sir for Bringing a littl bit of "Colore" into the topic. I hope your vanila ice cream was tasty.

[@freepunk9479]

@Tips Out , Sorry to disturb you. I left you a message on "retail-WoW" on Discord...i hope you can see the message. I think Blizzard made less 27 million dollars in 2018 compared to 2017 from the earnings report. I hope im not wrong.

[@ronaldfutcher7239]

What is represented from todays release is fine. Sounds like they might just leave classic sitting there ticking over which equals no updates or further patches and staying at 1.12

[@halffox102]

i wonder how big the bonuses will be this year? its almost like trickle down economics doesn't work

[@RafaelMarcF22]

Trickle Down Economics has nothing to do with customers.

[@ir0n2541]

Why would you need to develop classic if it has already been developed ? they just need to release the 2005 version with some tweeks.

[@phobosmoon4643]

There is gonna be wow tokens boys =[

[@RedBeard785]

Of course

[@Golemoid]

Its pretty certain. If anything, it will be to cut on private gold selling.

[@Klokkismann]

WHAT

[@Achille12345]

If there is a WoW Token in Classic its going to completely *DESTROY* Classic WoW at least for me as the economy is a big part of the game and gold is actually meaningful and with WoW token... RIP

[@Achille12345]

Heavenly Are you serious now? Its not every single average random joe who go and buy gold of some 3rd party sites, however the WoW Token is safe, faster and so everybody can do it which mean gold will be far less valuable if everybody do it, on retail it doesn't matter since gold doesn't worth shit and its pretty much worthless in general. However in Classic gold is fucking everything in general especially early game getting your abilities and that 100 and 1000 gold for your mounts and so on and if everybody start to buy WoW tokens to make few hundred if not thousand then everything will be fuck and things will start to sell for WAY more than it should like its currently is in retail, it will create gold inflation. So yeah no thanks I do not want crappy trash WoW tokens in Classic, since if both share the same sub then just make gold on retail and buy a WoW token there so you can get more game time to play Classic its quite simple.

[@mistermanji]

I'm not sure why this continues to surprise people. Blizzard exists to make money for its shareholders now, and the cheapest, most low-risk way to do that is mediocre content with lots of microtransactions and vanity crap.

[@Icosiol]

Right Click reporting I believe will be in the game, unfortunately. I don’t think it will be as big a problem as you suggest, but the potential is there.

[@Netsuko]

I'm so fucking angry about this right now...

[@VeryCoolJeep]

I question my self all the time. How come Private Server can do it and Blizzard is taking 2 years

[@sirboglor562]

I would be livid about this news. But luckily for me Destiny is my main game, and Bungie managed to divorce Activision before they burned to the ground with the publisher. I'd be concerned for Hearthstone but I picked up MTG Arena and like it infinitely more now. So the only real loss for me is WoW, and I only picked that up in 7.3.5 so I'm not really invested and unsubbed when 8.1 didn't fix anything about BFA. While I lucked out and don't have to give a fuck about ActiBlizz anymore, I feel terrible for everyone else who still does. It's time to get out friends, Activision just wants you to sink with their own ship at this point.

[@MaDmanex100]

If they have /report or loot trading aswell as gameplay changes such as the /sit macro mechanics for palas and other gameplay related aspects(spell batching, i remember) I will not play classic. At that point its another experience in my mind.

[@gg5115]

Tips, the Classic project reeks of an upper manager's pet project. We know for a fact that the powers that be at Blizzard leadership were dead set against it for 10 years. I think board level Activision management realized that Blizz has been leaving a few million subs a year on the table just on principle. The order has come down from on high to sell Vanilla WoW again, and the measure of success will be subs. So the dev team at Blizzard screws around with that mandate at their own peril. If that is the case, then it is possible that Classic can be largely immune to the focus on micro-transactions and such things, even if the larger Activision is jumping in head first. Also, I wish someone else would take up, or at least shoot down, my idea of volunteer game masters. It satisfies both our side of the issue, and the now thinner staff at Blizz. I could have done it back in the day. No substantial powers on my own, but enough to police and assist a real game master. Some things I could do - silence or even temp ban gold spammers, answer noob questions for help, take some action on griefing perhaps. (The only time I called a game master was when I was stuck in a tree crevice and didn't know what a hearthstone was yet.) But most importantly, review the right-click reports and have a human make the call on whether a player deserves a ban or not. The machine itself should never be able to issue a ban or silence. Nobody disagrees with you on that btw, so ironically, it's the only thing you've been wrong about in a vid. Each game master could have an army that would do it almost for free. I'd do it for: 1. Paid sub. 2. the occasional WoW swag. 3. the chance to make Azeroth and my server a better place.

[@bobojangles7363]

love the attitude but you have to realize that those noob questions will poor in, along with other things, you will have no real time to play the game.

[@gg5115]

@@bobojangles7363 Well, you would log in and get your hours in as the volunteer GM. Then you would clock out and play the game. People in game wouldn't know. Maybe you'd have a different toon if you did some in game GMing. Reviewing those right click reports wouldn't require you to be in game. And I could see me burning out on that real quick - I don't mind paying $15 a month. But there are people who would love to do that.

[@markie9934]

Aren’t you a superhero

[@PentagonSteel]

If they don't make Classic as it should be, that would be the final nail in the coffin.

[@oce1989]

Beyond sad. Anyone currently unsubbed and hoping for a new beginning with classic.. man this does not bode well.

[@pepe3540]

This news is very upsetting. Feel sorry for the people losing their jobs.

[@bobthebomb6498]

I re-subbed when they announced Classic. The moment they announce PTW my payments cease.

[@harold105]

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram have like 95% computer automated policing. My guess is they are following 'Major Tech Trends' problem is, video games are not social media.

[@DiRiNGRAE]

Bungie recently split from Activision -- AND got to keep the game they developed (Destiny 2)! Do you think its possible for Blizzard to make the same break from Activision?

[@nacht_kaperschiff2670]

I hope Wyatt Cheng and Matthew Burger got canned you know: "Don't you have phones?"

[@WeallAreAdults]

Wrong, they will be getting a promotion, Atleast that's what its looking like from my perspective

[@DR-ts4eh]

Well... even for someone initially waiting for Classic WOW maybe better to start playing on these Private Servers like Kronos etc. It's getting more and more likely that Activisions ignorance and not understanding their customer base is able to manage to ruin a game that was already finished 15 years ago.

[@miothan]

The only thing i care about anymore when it comes to Activision-blizzard is classic, diablo is most likely dead for PC and i doubt they are working on a new IP since they haven't made anything for quite a while, and even Overwatch was made from the leftover carcass of Project Titan.

[@aspeacerman]

Dude I want to be in your classic guild. Literally the guild leader who cares the most about the game.

[@bw1399]

Haven't played since bc but I might give classic a go, anyone know if I will have to "buy" classic or I can use my.okd bc account? Because for some reason I have to pay 45$ for w3 reforged even though I have th base game wtf is that shit....

[@cameronsands6538]

As said when they announced it, you will just need a sub of wow, then you will be able to install the classic game and play. You can't use your bc account. If you bought wow, you just have to reinstall it from b.net

[@mike0rr]

Jesus, if I didn't miss Classic so bad, I wouldn't even come back to such a heartless company. I miss Blizzard, or at least who they used to be, but Activision Blizzard is a disgusting company. It sucks to have a character with 15 years of memories and items tied to nostalgia, old friends and good memories, bound to such a monster... I know I will still give Classic a shot, but I'm never buying a thing from this company outside of Classic again. I don't know what they could possibly do to mend this burnt bridge.

[@XAn0nymousX0]

After seeing this news and what they did I will no longer support them even for classic. I was so excited for classic, but I will never give money to a company that behaves like this. I personally don't think anyone else should either, but to each his own.

[@flech3025]

I am very concerned about Classic.

[@zerone9521]

Why did they merge with activision?

[@Esonar]

Right Click to Report, and Loot Trading are here to stay. They may remove the BAN part of it (assuming that part is true) but the mute is likely here to stay. The Click Report system and Loot Trading are both super personnel focused. If you don't have them, you need GM's to do the work. We clearly won't have that. So.... If that's a dealbreaker for you, sorry.

[@Mrfirstmonth]

What were you expecting? People only cares about money these days. Minimize costs and maximize profits, no matter what. No care for human lives or whatever..

[@KJM1919]

I kinda want to throw in the white flag and just download a private server now. This call was so disheartening.. thanks for the coverage, Tips.

[@MiStarGalaxy]

Kyle I want to play on a classic PS I looked around but im nervous because I don’t want to break my pc if I do something wrong. Know any?

[@darylsdog9521]

@@MiStarGalaxy not how that works go to lightshope.org m8

[@KJM1919]

Daryl's Dog will do. Any idea how to get it set up on Mac?

[@KAZPERFOX]

Warmane is a good steady server I've been playing on for over a year. The have tbc and wrath servers with 5k+ steady pop

[@KAZPERFOX]

@@darylsdog9521 sadly the lights hope people will be shutting down for good when blizzard releases classic. That posted it on the site.

[@marccram6584]

The gambling industry is 300 billion dollar worldwide .. Why doesn't Blizzard just make Diablo slot machines, Overwatch Blackjack and World of Warcraft Craps? Makes as much sense as a going into mobile.

[@slayanterallica]

Im so pissed they fired all theses people it litteraly kills my hype for official Classic

[@meowmeowmeow1243]

Most devs who made the Blizzard games i love are long gone. What is left is not something i will ever support. They can sell all the mounts they want, make all the mobile games they want, they are not getting 1 cent from me. Hope other will wake up and stop supporting this company who obviously does not care for the fans, but only cares about making more and more money.

[@Puils]

They should make it like cs:go, where loyal players can review reports

[@evilsdemise1287]

Maybe they'll have Sneaky Pete handle right click reports since his A.I. is so advanced.

[@TheUnknow]

As much as these news are heavy, we should not be taking the sadness in place of blizzard. As i said in deftalk: 1- They get their shit together and do a good job. 2- All projects will decline, and new projects will FAIL (Even Classic and reforged). And we all know to what end these crossroads lead.

[@adolfadolf6010]

Good God. It is much worse than I expected.

[@Jkg71]

Why don't they just keep their heavy microtransactions and pay 2 win practices in the markets that are more receptive to them like China? Clearly their is enough disdain towards those practices in the west to know we don't want them.

[@dlmurray55]

I predict that if they move most of their games to mobile for making a profit in the China Market it will fail within maybe a year once China completely puts in to place their new social credit system. The reason I believe this is because the new system frowns upon playing to many hours in a game, buying to many games, spending too much in microtransactions. Doing so will cause their score to go down. If this happens they could lose the ability to have access to trains, cars, jobs and airplanes. That's just the light side of the negatives of this new social credit system they are planning for 2020. Just talking to someone with a bad score will cause your score to go down. Disagree with the system your score goes down. Eventually you are not allowed to move even an inch out of your apartment if your score is low enough and may even be placed in re-education camps.

[@johanndemedina]

Wich black mirror episode is this? Damn

[@WarrioJ]

@@johanndemedina It's titled Nosedive, season 3, episode 1. But it's also a real thing.

[@ozbilby86]

Why not just do a crowd funding of a classic WOW clone. I sure some of the developers of Vanilla WOW would like to get involved

[@cameronsands6538]

I agree with many. O.g. blizzard was great and was fine without Activision. At least back in vanilla they cared about their customers enough to hire game masters to actually talk to an individual. An automated system is rediculous for how much money they make. If they are going to lay people off, don't cut the core jobs that make a real difference in their company. For those are the jobs that will be affecting customers and revenue. It really isn't that hard to make classic the way vanilla players want. Change the code to work with new servers and OS. Allow server transfers for a fee, or free transfers from high pop to low pop servers. Keep game masters, and not an automated right click report. Start with those, and most players will reinvest in the game. If they don't, their sales for classic will be garbage.

[@kakadaf3]

watching blizzard make decisions is like watching slow moving car crash

[@lunarkid.]

The moment you realize, Sargeras is Activision and Blizzard is the heart of azeroth. We need a Magni to safe World of Warcraft!

[@onaponap8168]

Classic is the only one worth bothering with now, the rest of there stuff just sends me to sleep.

[@danielskaluba5520]

Do you guys not have unemployment insurance?

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

They're firing people? Don't they have workspaces for employees?

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

@@hondamt5838 You kinda missed the joke there

[@travelingbard1]

Maybe I'm missing something but from what I read of their financials you posted, they met or exceeded their outlook + grew across the board from last year. Is the shittiness of their 4th quarter buried in the 20 individual tables that follow the press release? Seems like it's not that they had a bad year financially (they grew) but that they had a lot of bad press & they didn't grow enough to meet whatever goals they were shooting for. Also sounds like they are shifting to focus more on development vs support/maintenance for the next year and they intend to hire quite a few developers in 2019 to work on their new titles. On the surface, it makes sense but the reality is shitty for everyone who just lost their jobs and it continues to show where their priorities are...and it doesn't seem to be in making their users happy. It's cranking out titles as fast as possible & who cares if people like it as long as they buy it. Yeesh... Edit: well they lost Bungie so that had to be expensive. Perhaps that's what I'm missing.

[@FrmerK20]

Blizzard: Vanilla can make money Activision: Okay make it, add micro transactions *Vanilla flopps* Activision: WTF