After Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard, questions arose about the games from the game developer. In particular, the “Call of Duty” franchise has traditionally been at home on Sony’s Playstation. How will this proceed? This was recently revealed by the Xbox chief.
This is the situation:
- On January 18, the software company Microsoft announced its intention to acquire the video game developer Activision Blizzard for around 70 billion US dollars.
- The purchase is by far the largest in the gaming industry to date and gamers worldwide were left speechless by the news.
- However, questions also arose about how things will proceed – what will happen to WoW and Call of Duty? At least regarding CoD, there is now an answer.
This is what the Xbox chief says: In a brief post on Twitter, Xbox chief Phil Spencer mentions talks with Sony. It states that they want to honor all existing agreements. This especially concerns Call of Duty.
In the tweet, it is stated: “I confirm our intention to honor all existing agreements after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our commitment to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of the industry and we value our relationship.”
Prior to this, there were uncertainties among fans. Already when Microsoft acquired Zenimax and Bethesda for 7 billion in 2020, it was announced that some upcoming games would no longer be released on PlayStation. At least the new CoD seems secure now.
Microsoft wants to acquire Activision Blizzard and the internet is flipping out
What actually happened? With the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has sent clear signals about expanding in certain areas. Apparently, the Xbox Game Pass offering is to be expanded, but cloud gaming is also being discussed repeatedly.
Among fans, however, the biggest concern was how their games would proceed. Questions were raised about whether Overwatch and WoW would now come to Game Pass. Memes surfaced suggesting that one would now have to log in to WoW with their Windows ID – or receive help from the friendly paperclip Clippy from Microsoft Word while questing.
The question about CEO Bobby Kotick also arose. After the sexism scandal in 2021, Blizzard in general and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in particular fell strongly out of favor. Fans hope he will leave – and after the acquisition, that could actually happen.
The MeinMMO editorial team, along with guest Micha Graf from GameStar discussed the situation in a special podcast. You can listen to it here:
How will it proceed now? For now, we must wait to see if the antitrust authority will approve the acquisition. We will probably know more in the course of the year. Which games will then come to the Game Pass or which will be newly developed is still to be determined.
Spencer himself already stated in an interview that he wants to bring back the “games of his childhood”. Whether this refers to old classics like Hexen, Rock’n’Roll Racing, or The Lost Vikings is still unknown.
We also want to know your opinion. Participate in our survey and tell us what you think of the acquisition – is it good or bad?
