What You Missed This Week in Video Games

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

NEW RELEASES: This week’s major new release is Larian Studios’ “Baldur’s Gate 3,” a role-playing game based on “Dungeons & Dragons.” The game releases August 3 on PC, with a PlayStation 5 (SONY) version set to release on September 6.

NEW NINTENDO CONSOLE: Key partner studios have their hands on development kits for Nintendo’s (NTDOY) next gaming system, with a rollout of the new system planned for 2024, VideoGamesChronicle’s Andy Robinson (MSFT) Xbox Series X/S, the author said. While specific details on the new console are not yet known, sources indicated to VGC that the system can be used in portable model, similar to the Nintendo Switch.

The news came less than a week after Benchmark initiated coverage of Nintendo with a Buy rating and 7,175 yen price target. The firm believes Nintendo offers investors “a unique and compelling long term growth opportunity,” with strengths that include global brand recognition, robust intellectual property in its game portfolio, an expanding market opportunity in mobile gaming, and potential for new revenue streams through product innovation and IP expansion, the analyst said.

Additionally, prior to the VGC report, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told The Fly in an Click here to check out recent Media Buzz Sentiment on Nintendo as measured by TipRanks.

CMA: Yesterday, The Verge’s Tom Warren reported that Microsoft had sent a new change of circumstances document to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority, making its case for its proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) to be reconsidered for clearance in Britain. The Xbox maker is now contending that the CMA should take into consideration its cloud gaming agreements and the EU’s monitoring of them, a new “Call of Duty” pact with Sony, and even fresh material from the FTC case, the author noted.

The news came the same day that Argus analyst Joseph Bonner raised the firm’s price target on Microsoft to $390 from $371 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The company’s proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition is looking much more viable after Microsoft completed distribution agreements with competitors and won a series of regulatory court battles in the U.S., the analyst told investors in a research note. The firm added that Microsoft has about as diversified and strong a set of assets as any company in the technology industry, and the stock may even be looked at as a haven by investors looking for a flight to quality in uncertain times and market conditions.

OTHER STORIES TO WATCH

• Sony said its PlayStation 5 console has surpassed 40M units sold since its November 2020 launch (read more)
• GameStop (GME) will end support for its cryptocurrency wallet (read more)
• Square Enix’s (SQNXF) “Final Fantasy XIV” will come to Xbox in spring 2024 (read more)
• Roblox (RBLX) said that the Roblox Open Beta is now available on Meta Quest 2 (META) and Quest Pro (read more)