Microsoft has finalized its $69 billion USD (about $94.2 billion CAD) acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard.
As part of the deal, the Xbox parent company now owns a variety of high-profile gaming properties, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo and Candy Crush.
This also adds a slew of development teams to Xbox Game Studios’ roster, which sat at 23 prior to the closure of the deal, including Infinity Ward and Treyarch (Call of Duty), Blizzard Entertainment (Diablo), Toys for Bob (Crash Bandicoot), and King (Candy Crush). Activision also has three studios in Canada: Quebec City’s Beenox (which assists with Call of Duty development), Sledgehammer (a California-based Call of Duty developer with an office in Toronto) and software developer Demonware (an Irish company with a location in Vancouver).
The closure of the deal ends a gruelling 20-month regulatory process in which Microsoft worked to get approval across the world. During that time, the company faced intense scrutiny from the likes of the U.S.’ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The former ultimately approved the purchase after losing a legal battle, while the latter originally blocked the deal partially out of concerns that Microsoft would gain a monopoly on cloud gaming.
To address anti-competition concerns, Microsoft signed deals with the likes of Nintendo, Nvidia and PlayStation to keep Call of Duty on those platforms for 10 years, although it’s unclear what the release strategy will be for other Activision Blizzard titles. To appease the U.K., specifically, Microsoft also signed a landmark deal with Ubisoft to sell streaming rights to Activision Blizzard games to the Assassin’s Creed maker.
While Microsoft allows the likes of Halo, Forza and Starfield to be streamed to consoles, PC, mobile and smart TVs through Xbox Game Pass’ Xbox Cloud Gaming feature, Ubisoft would ultimately have the final say on whether that’s allowed for Activision Blizzard titles. The French publishing giant has confirmed it will bring these games to its own streaming service, Ubisoft+, but it also has the freedom to license them to other companies if desired.
For now, though, Activision Blizzard games aren’t actually set to start coming to Xbox Game Pass — streaming or otherwise — until sometime in 2024. Notably, this would be a later timeline than the one Microsoft had with Bethesda titles, which started hitting the service just three days after that deal closed.
It also remains to be seen how Microsoft handles exclusives beyond what isn’t covered by the Call of Duty games. For context, with Microsoft’s last big acquisition, ZeniMax Media in 2021, the company fulfilled contractual obligations to release Bethesda titles like Deathloop on PS5 before making other titles, like Redfall and Starfield, exclusive to Xbox and PC. Future Bethesda games, like the mysterious Indiana Jones project, are also set to be Xbox and PC only.
In any case, Microsoft has said that cloud gaming is only one part of its plans for Activision Blizzard. Of course, the company is still able to sell non-streaming versions of these games on its own platforms.
Further, beyond bolstering the first-party catalogue on console and PC, Microsoft has said it also intends to leverage Activision Blizzard in the mobile market. Between the likes of Candy Crush, Call of Duty and Diablo Immortal, Activision Blizzard has seen immense success on mobile, with more than half of its revenue regularly coming from this side of the business. Xbox is reportedly planning to use Activision Blizzard to create its own mobile store separate from Android and iOS.
Of course, it will take some time for Activision Blizzard to fully integrate into Xbox Game Studios. For now, Xbox has several other games on the way, including Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Avowed and a new Microsoft Flight Simulator for 2024, and the next Fable and a new IP called South of Midnight (from Montreal-based We Happy Few developer Compulsion) without any release windows.
Activision Blizzard is currently facing ongoing legal issues regarding harassment and workplace culture. The company has been accused of enabling “frat boy culture.” Legal proceedings and investigations remain underway. Meanwhile, CEO Bobby Kotick is also under the microscope for allegedly covering up reports and allegations. In an internal email, Microsoft confirmed that Kotick will resign as CEO in 2024 after assisting with the company’s early transitionary phase.
Image credit: Microsoft
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