“We love games. We play games, we create games, and we know firsthand how much games mean to all of us as individuals and collectively, as a community. And today we officially welcome Activision Blizzard and its teams to Xbox,” says Xbox boss Phil Spencer. “As one team, we will learn, innovate, and continue to deliver on our promise to bring the joy and community of gaming to more people. “We will do this in a culture that strives to empower everyone to do their best work, where all people are welcome, and is focused on our continued commitment to Games for All.”
The deal is Microsoft’s largest acquisition to date, well above the $26 billion Microsoft paid to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 and the $7.5 billion it paid to acquire Bethesda in 2021. This one too It’s Microsoft’s biggest push into gaming, and the company said in the original announcement of this megadeal that it will now be the “third largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.”
Microsoft now plans to add many of Activision Blizzard’s games to Xbox Game Pass. “Today we begin work to bring the beloved franchises from Activision, Blizzard and King to Game Pass and other platforms,” says Spencer. “We will share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you are excited and so are we.”
Activision Blizzard made it clear earlier this week that Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo IV However, it won’t be coming to Xbox Game Pass this year. Microsoft has not provided an update on Xbox Game Pass subscription numbers since announcing 25 million subscribers alongside the announcement of the original Activision Blizzard deal in January 2022.
Microsoft will now add more than nine game studios on the Blizzard side alone to its Xbox Game Studios, along with game studios in more than 11 locations for the king side of mobile gaming acquisition. Microsoft has also transformed itself into a publishing powerhouse following the acquisition, with more than 8,500 Activision employees now joining Microsoft.
