The Great Microsoft Debate feat. Flats, Samito & Bogur | Group Up! ep. 25

[@RobinLundqvist]

Love samito always discussing 5 different subjects at once

[@cameronhudson110]

Samito is kinda not very smart

[@thomasp506]

@@cameronhudson110 I'm not sure how you're making the connection between discussing 5 different topics at once and lack of intelligence, other than simply having a bias and grasping. If anything, it's a lack of focus, not a lack of smarts.

[@hi_im_ep1k187]

Sam, the guy that's been complaining about the same issues in the game that have just recently become popular opinion is not smart. The guy with several successful careers. Who's able to succeed in every environment he puts himself in. Not smart tho.

[@armstrong2052]

Lol he's an overarching narrative type. And everything boils down to Brigette's fault.

[@turbomeows]

@@armstrong2052 brig was the beginning of the end for overwatch, so he's right.

[@noahdtdog9082]

I started watching this live on Samito’s stream but decided I wanted to wait to watch the VOD. Super excited it’s live, loved the first few minutes I’ve heard already and can’t wait to listen to the rest! Keep it up SVB

[@EJW2003]

Same here 😅

[@swagfiltr894]

Same to me

[@defeatSpace]

what's super excited about? huh?

[@davidmacneil1946]

I really enjoyed Flats' perspective on the barrier to entry stuff, its so so true. If Overwatch became free to play, it would grow SIGNIFICANTLY. And like Bogur said, yes this likely means more microtransactions, but that is the way of the world these days in gaming. So long as it doesn't impact gameplay mechanics, who cares. And like Sam mentioned, this should be a part of Microsoft's business strategy. Hit the nail on the head you guys, thanks for hosting SVB :)

[@nuclearsimian3281]

A ton of the problems right now in Overwatch would get fixed the instant there was a huge number of new players coming into the game. You wouldn't be stuck with the same issues of "I keep running into these same 20 people in comp," or the same setups, because you're now up against people who have more experience in other games and can bring that in at least at lower ranks and make for an enjoyable playstyle.

[@be4ut1ful.st4rl1ght]

the day you make me pay for a hero is the day i stop playing overwatch. do fucking anything cosmetics skins or whatever i dont care, but please keep all heroes free, that is all i ask

[@shioramenrabbit]

@@be4ut1ful.st4rl1ght Unless they change the game entirely they won't do heroes. It would make the game unwinnable. Personally my bet is on cosmetics and season passes. Maybe some PvE content if they keep adding new stuff.

[@be4ut1ful.st4rl1ght]

@@shioramenrabbit yes that i can deal with, though a season pass makes me feel all gross inside, understandable nonetheless

[@fabs5867]

@@be4ut1ful.st4rl1ght see, this is the point i don't get. How do people not enjoy the battle pass system? It's literally more content for free (or you can buy the pass to have enen MORE content). Imagine a game pass with loot boxes, skins, sprays, emotes, highlight intros...it only makes the game better. No "pay-to-win" heroes, no bs...just pure content that we used to get every 4 months but every month, every week, every day. People who don't like it are either blind, or just stuck in 2010 im sorry

[@abastionofbricks7575]

While i haven't been able to watch the whole podcast yet, i am hopeful for the future, which is something i couldn't say for overwatch in a LONG time. This may be because i don't think it could get much worse for overwatch at this point, but i hope for a positive change with this buyout.

[@SVBOW]

Podcast Links: If you enjoy this content then please consider supporting it directly via Patreon: www.patreon.com/svb Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/ow_svb/the-great-microsoft-debate-feat-flats-samito-bogur Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/6sRWutKTc0gnWuguo62Vpa Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/svbs-group-up/id1490256265

[@Kurse_of_Kall]

ayo you forgot to pin your own comment lmao

[@Real_MisterSir]

I just hope the top people at Microsoft Gaming sees these great debates, so they can understand just how committed this game's community is. It would be the ultimate incentive for them to really open the floodgates and kick this game back into shape.

[@ryuhayabusa3302]

I've been following MS lately with Xbox since the last few years they've been investing insane in gaming. They buy studios and grow them bigger, giving them more resources to make the best game they can make even if it means delaying games. For example, they let a studio make a passion project that failed but MS took the L on that. They delayed Halo Infinite for a year on their next gen console release month just to make sure the game was in a great state. I have no doubt that MS under Phil Spencer will try to clean house at AB and give each studio more creative freedom to make the game they want to make and giving them more time. I don't know if MS will be able to make Blizzard as great as it once used to be, but it will be so much better than it is today. How much greater is the real question. But seeing how much the amazing community of Blizzard has suffered under Activision there is no way but up. MS was the best possible candidate imo. If it was Sony or Nintendo they would have released the games on PC years later or never and you'd have to pay 400-500 to buy their hardware to play or worse Facebook/Apple/Amazon would have burned it to the ground. MS supports PC day 1, you don't even need hardware to play with XCloud you can just play all the games for just 10 bucks a month through your TV, phone, tablet, PC, console wherever. I think that's fairly accessible which means more people will play these games, even people who couldn't afford this hobby before. All in all just wanted to say there's a lot of reasons to be positive. The downside is the effects will only show around 2025 and beyond since the acquisition, if it goes through, closes summer of 2023 and it will take a few years before MS cleans house at AB and tries to rebuild and give devs more creative freedom and resources to up their game.

[@dupalec]

I want to preemtively emphasize that MS buying Acti/Bliz WILL bring positive changes that we (overwatch fans) will benefit from. However, when Bogur speaks about MS not wanting to look bad is just pure nonsense. Corporations are not your friends, they exist to make money. They don't do things for their love of little Timy. When SVB/Samito talk about Halo Infinite and the business model, it shows that neither of them is part of that scene. There was an uproar about 343 nickle and diming Halo community. Yes, now they dropped the price, they are reworking their reward system BUT it goes to show that they tried to abuse their playerbase. Those are kind of worries that I have in a long term - 5-10 years and more. Also monopolys are NEVER good. Again, next few years are looking better than ever for Overwatch future.

[@Real_MisterSir]

I think in general Halo is a very different case. First of all, it was a new production, not an existing game. That means MS had a hand in it right from the beginning. Overwatch is an existing game with an existing system and way to play, and most importantly, Overwatch is not based on evolution over time, meaning the characters play exactly the same way when you're lvl 1, vs when you are lvl 1000. There are no unlockables or upgrades that will in any shape or form alter gameplay, at least in the pvp model. Pve is different, but then again pve is never going to be the main selling point of playing Overwatch. In Halo, you actually get gameplay-changing items/progression over time, which was what was was seen as controversial because it was so hard to grind and so expensive on top/bundled up etc. But key part here, yes MS did exploit the monetization in ways, but they still went back and listened in the end, which is in ways more than what you can say about pretty much any other company of their stature and size. Halo has never been a wide-reaching franchise, it has been an xbox exclusive forever and that has formed a very core and opinionated fanbase. When you want to reach wide after going on pc too AND ftp, then it's natural to mess up in the process. This is not to defend MS and how they handled Halo Infinite, it's just to say that this is a single-case situation. They have handled Minecraft exceptionally, for example. Same with Age of Empires, despite the game in that franchise with most resources put into it is literally 20 years old. So all this said, Bogur is very right in his observations that MS seem to know that the IPs they control should be handled with some degree of care. Yes they are a tech giant and profit is everything to them, but they also seem to understand what "profit" means long term. Most companies only see "profit" as short term, easy quick money which brings out the milking culture. MS at least shows they understand the IPs they control have long term profit value, and long term profit only comes if you have active players who stay invested over time, not just for the initial release purchases (looking at EA, etc). And you see this, taking EA as an example. The value of the Battlefield franchise has absolutely tanked because they didn't listen to their players. They failed to understand that profit over time comes from listening (to a degree) to the people who actually buy your game titles consistently. They stretched the quick profit attempt too thin, and now they feel the repercussions.

[@SJ-vc6zn]

@@Real_MisterSir On top of what you said, while the Halo community may have felt some type of way over Microsofts Monetization of Halo, that they are fixing. Its important to remember Microsoft allowed Halo to be delayed for an entire Year for quality control. If that doesnt show you they really do care, I dont know what will. You can care about quality, consumer happiness and profit. The world is not black and white, all companies are flawed, not all of them are evil per se.

[@Real_MisterSir]

@@SJ-vc6zn Exactly. And most companies that do "evil" things often do it due to outside pressure. MS is at the very least large enough to not be easily moved by 3rd party investors etc, to the same degree that smaller individual companies are. MS doesn't care about us, they care about loyalty to their brand and IPs. They just paid top dollar for ActiBlizz, they're not looking towards short term profit at the cost of brand names. From a marketing perspective that wouldn't make any sense.

[@ga6257]

I completely agree. I think short term it is creative and more content, but in the long term of things we will pay more for the same game experience we already had.

[@Amaan_OW]

Man if ppl think halo infinites monetization is abuse they need to reconsider their definition

[@n00dle_ow]

the collective statement from the community: "Well, it can't get any worse"

[@spiritofthewolf1880]

It's already at rock bottom, man.

[@n00dle_ow]

@@spiritofthewolf1880 you're not wrong

[@BuildingHP]

This was uploaded to youtube at record speed 🙌 you are on fire

[@rocketdoggie6441]

This gives me a lot more hope for Ow2. I feel like there won’t be as many distractions now and the employees won’t feel as tense since they’re under new management.

[@gamist8166]

I love that svb is so fast with these talks. I know we can't expect this all the time, but this just happened.. And the overwatch talk is already out! Its awesome

[@BuildingHP]

It did something to my SOUL to see Samito of all people beaming like that. That’s not something you see every day.

[@pulsar.]

Because he is right we haven't seen a good thing in sooooo long

[@Bluemansonic]

As an Xbox fan with a family working in Microsoft, I am SUPER excited for this...but I still want to have Bobby fired

[@Real_MisterSir]

Hopefully they will be able to at least limit Bobby's influence in the time where his contract is still active.

[@Bluemansonic]

@@Real_MisterSir I watched more videos and yes, he has Big Bro Phil watching his every move now

[@Real_MisterSir]

@@Bluemansonic Yea Bobby should be hearing the *boss music* anytime now

[@aaronaguirre6714]

yep, confirmed hes leaving. Leaving with a fat paycheck, but yes he's leaving

[@Bluemansonic]

@@aaronaguirre6714 a $300,000,000 paycheck is impossible for us to imagine but to him that's like $100 worth of rent lol

[@tomKATT92]

It;'d be amazing if they brought Jeff back, to help reignite the Overwatch train! Awesome video as usual! :)

[@Real_MisterSir]

I wish they would bring him in as a senior consultant. Everyone on the team knows him and what he has done for the game already - without having to do a full reverse step and change the new top in Team 4. Too much change could be disruptive. But if Jeff could in any shape or form could come back and have impact in Overwatch that would be big. Also especially for the community. I mean, everyone loves Jeff.

[@ReasonableRadio]

Idk... he may have done some shit there's no way to say for sure

[@kickassamd]

@@ReasonableRadio If you are referring to the frat boy type stuff, I dont see Jeff being involved in any of that.

[@ryuhayabusa3302]

Yes ! It would be a dream if Phil Spencer could get some of the great leaders from back in the day back to the company. Jeff being one of them. I would totally call Jeff and ask if he'd join. Maybe he'll decline but worth a try.

[@Donkens]

pretty sure every non disclosure contract expires once msft acquires Activision so he can go work for another company. To me it was a big question how bobby appointed j allen as ceo of blizzard, the guy behind the flop starwars galaxy, and Jeff as Vice President, one of the great minds behind world of warcraft

[@TooRiRi]

Love your content Big Boss! This is pretty much the only overwatch content I consume atm sadly. Thanks for helping me invigorate the love I have for my favourite game of all time. I can't wait for what the future holds now Microsoft has acquired Overwatch. You're great SVB, amazing!

[@TERMINXX101]

As someone who's entire library is on Sony platforms, I'm a bit concerned as to how this exclusivity will affect me and my friends. I personally think that while Sony might be in the lead for the past 2 gens, Microsoft is playing the long game and that lead will dry up. I think Sony is gonna have to step up their buying power and work on collecting some other major titles to compete with this.

[@chickenchaser9783]

Microsoft never lets games die. Fable would like to have a word with you

[@Domanda896]

I really hope, although I doubt it will happen. That they make OW2 6v6 again 😢 as a tank player. I feel like this is going to make the game not as fun on tank tbh and people will be wayyy more toxic for your mistakes. Being the only tank and all. A lot on your shoulders.

[@Htiy]

Yea I feel bad for you guys. It’s good to have a balance, and I’m a dps guy

[@sphenodon2016]

I watched this on Flats' channel, and I just gotta say, thank you SVB for putting out content like this. I gotta sub to your Patreon, cuz you deserve so much more money than the views you earn

[@Bluemansonic]

I am sharing this, y'all almost made me cry at work

[@SolRise_yt]

Man already a whole Debate! Just the thing i need while i work, thanks SVB for this great content!

[@Coachteach]

What a great time for OW, to be pulled from the abyss, you guys as content creators deserve this, you have been doing CPR on this game for years, soon it can get the place it deserves in gaming!

[@inahacim6582]

With this news.. they should back burner ow2 launch until they are properly staffed and can release a worthy game. In meantime revive ow now, more maps, heroes.. get the game into an upward trend with momentum right into ow2 launch.

[@cezarito3975]

Oh I'm so glad it's up already! I caught the very tail end of the stream so can't wait to listen😁

[@SonicBlueTyphoon]

Dude, I had no idea about Microsoft buying blizzard! That’s crazy! Gives a Tiiiiiiiiiny bit more hope!

[@jonpatterson8820]

Love this. Flats is my favorite OW streamer. Getting the opinion of everyone on here has made me want to play again. I've been playing since 16 with both my kids and have recently stopped. I want this game and the league to succeed.

[@MAW-20]

The fist was awesome.... Hopium levels through the roof BUT...I am still in the wait and see phase of this. Great discussions guys! Always love watching these.

[@Bavdingo]

I used to say "I wish someone would give be £1BN to buy and fix Overwatch." Didn't imagine it would take 50 times that to fix the whole organisation. This is spectacular news, if we see the same positive steps Bogur said about Minecraft. Phil Spencer seems he's all about the community and gaming in general.

[@hotelblvd]

Thanks for organizing these discussions, SVB. Much appreciated.

[@cameronhudson110]

I really like these debates. I know comments really help boost the channel, so I thought I'd leave some positive vibes here :)

[@Leox27]

Mentioning Run Kitty Run from Warcraft 3 unlocked a core memory

[@therealzahyra]

I missed most of it, so super glad that you upload these!

[@ryanpalmateer8632]

Overwatch/OW2 will be free to play if you have a game pass subscription or you will be able to buy it outright if you don’t have game pass. That’s how it works for many big title games on the Microsoft store.

[@Summit_FPS]

So first the NDA stuff, then this! I’m so excited for the future of overwatch!

[@ReddAbyss]

I lovevall these guys but morevand more I'm impressed by samitos intellect. His attention to detail is always so spot on and the scope of his vision is always broad

[@mcbamf517]

great stuff man I always look forward to watching these when they come out! My only concern is that ow2 will be to far along by the time Microsoft can really make an impact; but I think it's a great thing when looking toward the future.

[@LordOfWaffles32]

I think this is going to be a great change for the better for Blizzard/Acti

[@mohammedsaleh7]

Haven't looked to see if anyone else mentioned in the comments, but following on about the games library bit that Bovur was talking in the 56th minute ish. Game Pass Ultimate also gives access to EA Play, so you get a decent chunk of EA/Origin library that way too.

[@briggs971]

Love these podcasts! here to support you, my guy!

[@SILK97]

Wtf y’all set that up quick lol. No time wasted

[@Kotoba_]

Great points guys!! Love these debates

[@Samuraithekid]

I've been gaming since the Atari and also was a big Halo player. Overwatch is by far my favorite game so I'm hoping for great things!

[@maximos105able]

SVB I think something that would help this type of video is for you to find someone who is Adamantly against the Microsoft take over and is vocal about it, and bring them on to debate. This was more of 4 guys all agreeing that it is a good thing while trying to devil's advocate some to create any sort of debate. Other than that i appreciate the content keep up the good work yell and Frito to come join these debates again

[@TheDollarhide]

Samito is so smart dude

[@neptuneairslash3867]

SVB: Uploads video. Me: Click!

[@baroness5829]

Just to add to the value of diversifying holdings for large corporations... it's not just about dominating a market. A lot of it is about risk management. The more narrow the markets of your products are and the fewer different products you are offering, the higher the percentage of your overall revenue is at risk from things like a change in public sentiment, a competitor, a scandal, delays or a failed product launch/inferior product. Companies diversity because while any one pot they have on the stove may have the potential to fail, the likelihood that many of them will fail simultaneously is much less. This means overall the revenue stream is more reliable, more secure, the risk is lower. This helps your stocks, makes it easier to invest in new projects intelligently and proofs a company against 'unlucky' circumstances putting them in a financial bind.

[@Luke_the_platypus]

cant wait to see where this all goes

[@tyronebiggms394]

Watched this one live but popping in to give a like and comment. While I don't like Xbox dating back to the red ring of death days on the 360, this does give me hope for Overwatch. Just hope they don't screw over PlayStation users, and it sounds like they aren't planning to. Thanks for the discussion!

[@spectrum4524]

Found this very interesting as someone who doesn't play Xbox games or have any experience with their game pass, mainly play Genshin Impact and JRPG titles on PS4 (Persona 5, Royal, & Strikers, Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1-4). One thing is that I don't care too much for subscription based payments, sure I can access multiple titles for a cheaper price on a monthly basis, but having the potential access to multiple titles doesn't mean anything if I can't capitalize on them. I'd rather pay $60+ for one JRPG from a franchise I love and take my time to enjoy it and it will be my one video game purchase for the year. That being said, I'm aware I'm biased because most of Atlus's newer Persona titles are on PS4. Plus they thankfully released a Steam version for Persona 4 Golden so hopefully Persona 6 will be released both on PC and PS.

[@neiltiffany471]

This is a pog change in a lot of areas. Excited to see this!

[@anthonycarter1528]

LMBO 1:25:25 BOGUR needs to guest star more often. Man is hilarious!

[@claymorrison2156]

As always, love the long podcasts

[@xshadowwreckerx7561]

I said a Master Chief skin for 76 as soon as I heard this.Glad to see Bogur is on my page 😂

[@anto-mt7tv]

Love your podcast SVB!

[@gerharddamm5933]

I’m always at maximum hopium when it comes to OW. I hope OW2 comes out on PS5 and not just Xbox though!

[@slimsclanyt]

SVB. can you get Jayne back on the group up podcast? Thanks

[@TheLeriShow]

best podcast lineup!

[@jesse5253]

Theres no shot that the overwatch team announced a master chief skin for soldier on the literal day that u released this podcast

[@b23beatz]

I’m just not giving any expectations, hoping for the best

[@Shzl47]

For the Mobile concern around 1:07:00, Game Pass is already on Mobile. They don't HAVE to make dedicated mobile games. They can just make the main game scalable, like Fortnite.

[@greyfalconow9467]

Maybe people should get in on that "3 years of game pass ultimate for $5 month" loophole.

[@balders952]

This makes sense as to why ow2 was delayed so much. Everything kinda slowed down while the merge is going through.

[@davidrich27]

It's not really a merger, its an acquisition. And this is way down the list of what has delayed this game. There is a decent change they weren't even in talks for the buyout until after the stock tanked during the sexual harassment shit.

[@porkchopsamy7781]

Good stuff as always fellas.

[@alzahalemn7322]

Looks like it's time to smash like again

[@fullmetalf4i]

SVB said it best, "X amount of people will just stay subscribed to the service just because." in reference to Netflix and Gamepass. Im one of those people... I upgraded to game pass 2 years ago when I was still playing a bunch on console and wanted the perks of playing some of the new big titles without the investment of buying the game. Flash forward 2 years and my Xbox is purely there for my kid to watch Disney + on... I think the last time I played a game on it was trying to introduce him to the Minecraft world of building. I still hold onto gamepass because "Oh when X title comes to gamepass I can just download it and play it." even though I spend 99% of my gaming time on my PC these days

[@elpapisaint]

Game pass would be huge for the MMOs. Imagine getting the subscription for both WoW and ESO

[@Bluemansonic]

12:40 hit the nail on the GOD DAMN HEAD BRO!

[@michaelg1778]

Microsoft has DEEEEEEP pockets, the dev teams will get the resources they need to develop great games, and in the past they have shown support to studios that aren't just pumping out AAA mega-blockbuster titles so I don't think Microsoft is suddenly going to try and take over operations from all the Blizzard teams to suck every penny from every game and turn it all into Call of Duty. Samito is definitely wrong about Microsoft when he says they've never taken an L except for Mixer. They obviously made some bad decisions leading up to the Xbox 360 which bled into the Xbox One era. Once upon a time Microsoft really tried to push the "Xbox is for the entire family and the home theatre experience" idea. At that point Sony took an even bigger lead in the console department and Microsoft has been playing catch up ever since.. Eventually Microsoft realized the Xbox is for gaming and for gamers, not mom and dad to watch Grey's Anatomy. But as Samito likes to tell us many times, he's worked with Microsoft or he plays Minecraft a lot of something, so he has some blinders on lol. Anyway, under Phil Spencer Microsoft/Xbox has changed their mindset entirely and making aggressive moves to focus on gaming and has been very pro-developer and pro-consumer ever since. I'm excited.

[@dwoodward931]

Here's my idea on it. I'm going to be honest, I don't mind paying $60 retail price to play Overwatch or Overwatch 2. Sorry but I don't. Truth be told, you're going to be paying way more in the long term with the game pass than you would be just paying retail once. The real problem with that traditional monetization structure is that a pay once and play forever model does not and will not maintain and upkeep the constant updates and staff that is needed for the game to survive in the long term. You can argue Apex and others are free to play and they are, but they are monetized in such a way that makes them able to be maintained in the long term. This is the difference, and Overwatch is not monetized in a way that can support long term development currently.

[@Viejo93]

im just appreciating the facial hair in this video. every person has their own respectful beard and its cool IMO lol

[@arrozenescau1539]

"idc im a gamer" - Bogur 37:32, what a true chad

[@miniespeon158]

Anywhere Flats is, I am as well. Lmao. I loved this podcast! And im subbing haha

[@bu3adel944]

37:38 which episode i am interested

[@healbot9000]

If they decide to do crossover skins Reinhardt needs to get a Brotherhood of Steel skin.

[@Axafekt]

I was looking up to this! Svb is the goat!

[@mati_abc]

Also, OWL and CODL moved to KZbin, because Activision moved all of their server to Google, in a bundle kind of way. So, the obvious move here is to use azure after the acquisition, which could mean OWL could be back on twitch

[@Jnoel608]

Somewhere out there Dreamkazper is laughing at this whole Blizzard debacle.

[@leecoulon6790]

Has anyone seen, “The Pirates of Silicone Valley?” This appears to me like a repeat of that. Sony and Apple are more focused on the hardware and Microsoft is more on the software aspect. This might be good in the short term but if you think Bill Gates is a benevolent nice guy, I got some beachfront property to sell you in the desert! I think gamepass will be on all consoles, PC’s, and smartphones. This includes PlayStations and switches.

[@wayfer7243]

If so, I would start actually liking Microsoft.

[@Radarssbm]

Commenting for the algorithm woo

[@RadicalCreamer]

now Im hyped LETS GOOOO

[@itzsleazy6903]

Good stuff

[@soccerburn552]

I've had game pass for quite some time now and it's such a good fucking deal. Full price, console and PC is $15 a month. If you play 3 new games per year, 1 be game every 4 months, you get your moneys worth. Any game you play after that you are playing for free. The PC only or console only game is even cheaper.

[@_Swem_]

realy good content man

[@mor3de4th]

Samito final thoughts "NEW BALANCE TEAM", hahahha

[@CorruptFang72]

I actually love listening to Samito rant

[@arch4220]

You know what would be insane , if they just put the whole ow dev team to work on ow2 , which prob is most of the team anyways and Microsoft takes full control over ow1 testing their ideas n stuff out to see how well it works with their hands. I would not even be mad if ow2 too longer to come out if ow1 has hope. It actually can end up being a better IP than they envisioned for ow2 to be.

[@NuDimon]

Man oh man, I can't wait to main Crash Bandicoot in HotS 🙃

[@Axafekt]

Fallout 76 was before the acquisition. I honestly think this was a move that was planned years in advance and they waited for these companies to fuck up before they swooped in.

[@mattxzilla3938]

I’m terrified at the positivity of Samito’s reaction to the buyout

[@WheelsOfDeath]

I want an Overwatch TTRPG! Get that D&D money!

[@mateuszlau2938]

Scary thing is how Microsoft/343 has handled some aspects of Halo Infinite multiplayer. They hired behavioral psychologist to set up one of most awful microtransaction system in last years. It has challenge based progression in battle pass and some of those challenges are nightmare to do. Most battle pass levels are worthless. Some skins are way to expensive. They have introduced FOMO-heavy special events. There are also lots of technical problems like de-sync issues and KBM vs. controller balance. Cheaters are rampant and you have wrong impression that Microsoft would handle them easily. Overall I am positive about Microsoft taking over as current situation looked dire, but we still need to keep them in check. Halo community almost imploded after those bad decisions and now there are slowly making changes to improve the experience.

[@BlitzedIcarus]

Just one thing i didn't hear is the fact crossplay is still something that alot of "gamers" want and initially sony didn't want to cross play but the player base pushed them as microsoft and fortnite proved it could work and soon enough ps4 xbox and pc could play together and all companies benefitted from the new influx of people. Microsoft understand that crossplay in this generation has more value than exclusives

[@jeremiahs6718]

I’m excited to see if Microsoft revives Heroes of the Storm :)

[@thefootballpunnedit]

Inserted comment to show algorithm love

[@Siks7Ate9]

46:00 i watched overwatch league before i played overwatch because my brother played overwatch and explained it. i Watched owl and was like looks cool but i aint going to be spending money cous it looks complicated af. My brother bought me the game, told me go try it and 6 hours later i was still playing. this was 2 years ago and i still play the game

[@sirbarther]

How much is Freedo malding over not being able to spew thoughtstream on this topic with you 🤣

[@Bt341]

I would love if overwatch took notes from how Smite does their skins i don’t know any game that beats Smite in the skin department almost every skin is top tier visually with new voice packs and skins specific voice lines and every ability is visually redesigned every time as well for every single skin.

[@Real_MisterSir]

Through the nature of how Smite as a game functions, it is 10x easier to make skins compared to Overwatch. Character hitbox, visibility, resemblance, detail level, and animations requires so much work because Overwatch is a first person based shooter game, so every little aspect has to work perfectly. With the high pace and massive range of fights, when you see an enemy/ally character you must never be in doubt which character it is, regardless of the skin they use, even just at a slight glimpse. In Smite you don't work as much around hitboxes to the same degree which makes it far easier for developers to be creative and efficient with their time. For a game like this, Overwatch skin devs are actually top tier in the gaming community still, hardly anyone even gets close to them.

[@firellio070]

I hope the implement the rank system from HI to overwatch 2 13:07 "imagine a soldier 76 master chief skin" Microsoft: We already did

[@calos7349]

Studio's will always focus on developing games to cater to the player base they're monitizing. 2021 Blizzard had absolutely no effective way to monitize any of the OW player base, and therefore had no reason to spend money on development. Microsoft has both that insentive and ambition to monitize/develop for the "casuals", "ladder players", and even the pro scene. I'm happy to fund a company who makes a game I'll enjoy playing every day, so that's why I'm excited!

[@boudewijnverduin2]

Im commenting for the algor