Xbox acquires Activision Blizzard, makers of Call of Duty, Spyro and more
Buying Bethesda wasn't enough for Microsoft, and Xbox Game Pass is sure to benefit here.
In a stunning move, Microsoft has announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard and add its many franchises to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. According to Forbes, the deal will cost the Xbox-owning tech giant a whopping $70 million USD (just over £50 million GBP).
Microsoft announced the news on the Xbox Wire blog, declaring its intention to bring "every team across Activision Blizzard" into Xbox Game Studios as part of this industry-reshaping deal. Certainly, this just made the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles look even more appealing.
This means that, once the deal is finalised, Microsoft/Xbox will become the proud owners of Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob and Treyarch.
Among that list of companies set to be acquired by Microsoft are the teams behind Call of Duty, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, Overwatch, Diablo, Guitar Hero, the Tony Hawk games, Hearthstone, StarCraft and more franchises besides.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in the announcement: "Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog."
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Spencer added: "The fantastic franchises across Activision Blizzard will also accelerate our plans for Cloud Gaming, allowing more people in more places around the world to participate in the Xbox community using phones, tablets, laptops and other devices you already own."
As for whether this deal means that Activision games will stop appearing on other consoles such as the PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch, Spencer said, "Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward."
That's not exactly a clear cut yes or no answer to the big question on the minds of CoD fans - will the next Call of Duty game be an Xbox exclusive? - but it does at least suggest that Spencer has those players on other platforms in mind on some level.
Seeming to reference the recent allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct at Activision Blizzard (as recently as yesterday, The Wall Street Journal was reporting that firings were taking place at Activision Blizzard following these allegations), the Xbox Wire blog said this:
"As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard."
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Microsoft made headlines last year when it acquired Bethesda, the studio behind such games and franchises as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Dishonored, Starfield and Deathloop. In a similar fashion to what Spencer has promised today, when that deal closed, much of Bethesda's back catalogue arrived on Game Pass at no extra cost to the subscription service's members.
The news of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard comes soon after a rumour broke via Bloomberg - the report claimed that Sony is working on its own PlayStation Game Pass subscription service to rival Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass, a proposition that just got a lot harder. Forget the console wars. Begun, the subscription wars have...
Read more on Xbox:
- The very best Xbox Series X games
- How to charge Xbox Series X controllers
- What is Xbox Game Pass? Price and perks explained
- How to connect any Xbox controller to Xbox Series X/S
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