https://www.eurogamer.net/microsoft-wins-crucial-ftc-case-on-activision-blizzard-acquisition

I wonder if this means anything for getting old games onto GOG like Heretic 2.

Other classics Microsoft owns the rights to, like the two MechCommanders or Freelancer, for instance are still nowhere to be seen, therefore I wouldn't get my hopes up that Microsoft changes their stance in this regard anytime soon.
Same for recent titles from studios Microsoft has gobbled up over the past years, like Obsidian's Pentiment.

Well let's see. We have Obsidian games on GOG, but not the ones published by Microsoft. We have Remedy games, but not the one published by Microsoft. We have no games from Microsoft at all, besides Psychonauts 2, which had a pre-existing agreement to come to GOG, before Microsoft gobbled it up.

Microsoft loves DRM and doesn't care for game preservation. Microsoft loves subscriptions and doesn't care for ownership. We are more likely to see less games on GOG because of this acquisition, not more.

We have Hellblade and Outer Worlds on GOG. Will we get their sequels on GOG? Probably not. We certainly won't get Starfield, not even in 2034.

With Microsoft there seems to be no interest in re-releasing old, classic PC games like the aforementioned MechCommander series and releasing any of their games, old or new DRM-free.

Could that change at some point in the future? Maybe, but it may take quite a while, at least until key people like Phil Spencer have a change of mind or are replaced with other people more sympathetic to game preservation and the DRM-free cause.

They do, but only if it's remastered. MS can add DRM to their old games and pretend to care about the gamers. Age of Empire, Halo, and many other games.

Right, totally forgot about those.
Probably because I've no interest for/investment in those bigger, well-known properties usually associated with Microsoft.

Constant corporate consolidation is absolutely a huge concern that bothers me greatly. This is just another example of regulators not using their authority to prevent that.

However I will say that with games there is such a thriving indie and AA scene I don't think it's the end of the world. Let them have the Call of Duty and Diablo cash cows and rip off the idiots with microtransactions while I ignore it all and play Baldur's Gate 3 or whatever.

There's also the possibility that SNEG or GOG may still achieve the impossible of convincing Microsoft to hand over these IPs Microsoft themselves clearly sees no viability and/or profitability in.
MechCommander 1&2 were made available for free briefly a couple years back, maybe GOG could offer to host them again.

I wouldn't be so sure about that.
MS are probably like Disney, and like playing a longer game.
For sure, MS would watch and observe ... hell, they might even purchase GOG one day ... and if they did it right (or wrong) they could make a killing.

Interesting enough the main argument against the aquisition was about the season pass / subscriptions. The competitors in that segment may be left behind.
That's where the money rolls in the future.

Probably not. There's a ton of old Microsoft games (Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, Freelancer, Monster Truck Madness, Midtown Madness, older MS Flight Simulators, Zoo Tycoon, etc) they could release here at any time but haven't. So it's not like Microsoft have been any friendlier to GOG (or DRM-Free) than Activision. What they'll encourage more of is what they've done with AoE - milk the crap out of only the most popular ones with endless HD / Definitive / Anniversary re-releases then slap 1-3x layers of DRM on and push for more and more titles to be a 'stable' of their Game Pass subscription...

It would be nice if they came here but at the end of the day, after 15 years GOG has approx 5,500 out of +70,000 PC games ever made and there are some publishers / many +25 year old games where people need to "see the writing on the wall" and accept they probably won't ever be released "digitally" anywhere ever. I long gave up waiting for "digital" DRM-Free versions of classic Microsoft Age of Empires 1-2 and Age of Mythology and just bought the Collectors / Gold Edition DVD-ROM's (only to find they had the CD check removed and were DRM-Free anyway...)

If the opposing side presented any valid arguments against it, it would not go through. But they've just been hoping to stall long enough with obstructions for the deal to become void because they knew they'd lose in a court. MS is not known for letting others shit on their heads, so they did exactly that and forced it to court. Which they won by a landslide and the judge wasn't having any of Sony's or FTC's BS, who got simply rolled and were constantly stumbling over themselves to desparately come up with valid reasons to block it.

UK also might have just shot themselves in the foot because as the sole outlier, they might just get what they asked for and make MS pull from selling games in the UK completely if they remain stubborn.

There are no good guys in this case. Sony doesn't stand for "the gamers". They were in it solely for themselves.

Yeah I still think its stupid that Microsoft can basically buy up a ton of studios and no regulator blinks an eye. I dont care about Activision products but Microsoft has pretty much bought every notable Western gaming IP not owned by EA, Sony, or Rockstar now.

Rare - Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark
Mojang - Minecraft
ZeniMax - Doom, Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, Fallout, Quake
Activision Blizzard - Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty

Not only are these IPs going to be guaranteed Microsoft exclusive (and goodbye to DRM-free versions of these future entries), Microsoft hasnt done a good job actually fostering these IPs (see Perfect Dark and Banjo Kazooie. Minecraft has no changes).

Allowing one company to just own pretty much every Western IP to prevent competition like EA is only going to harm gaming (see why sports games suck thanks EA).

Good thing is there is still competition with good developers still remaining independent (FromSoft, PlatinumGames, CDPR, Rockstar) and the indie scene is producing alot of good stuff which can be just as good or better than many current AAA games that sell thanks to name branding and familiarity.

Also finding it funny that even Nvidia and Google oppose the Microsoft-Activision acquisition. Basically every competitor thinks its wrong because it would give Microsoft too much power but the regulators that are supposed to prevent monopolies are ok with it.

Agreed. Microsoft products have transitioned from buy one time products to use in perpetuity like Word and Powerpoint to push their Office 365 which is a subscription service, changing the model from buy once to pay every year for the same product. Microsoft is also the first mover of Gamepass, which while is a great deal right now for gamers, only pushes the needle further toward eliminating absolute ownership of games.

GOG's mission statement is antithetical to Microsoft's business practices and future endeavors.