This Tuesday, Phil Spenser, director of Microsoft Gaming, announced through Xbox Wire the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, responsible for renowned franchises such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush and Overwatch.
With the purchase of ActivisionBlizzard, Microsoft Gaming snaps up 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.
According to Spencer in his statement, while the transaction is closed, the company will continue to work independently. Later, when the negotiation is complete, they will report directly to him as head of Microsoft Gaming.
Activision Blizzard video games are coming to Gamepass
At the moment they have not been announced which games will be the first to arrive at GamePass. However, Spencer clarified that these will land on the subscription service, which already has 25 million users in the world, once the negotiation is closed.
“At closing, 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 the incredible Activision Blizzard catalog,” he said.
The company’s well-known and successful franchises include Call of Duty, Warcraft, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot and StarCraft.
“Activision Blizzard’s amazing franchises will accelerate our plans for cloud gaming, enabling more people in more places around the world to participate in the Xbox community using phones, tablets, laptops and other devices you already own. Activision Blizzard games will be they enjoy on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities in the future,” said the head of Microsoft Gaming.
For his part, Bobby Kotick, executive director of Activision Blizzard, said he sees the transaction as an alliance that allows the company, hand in hand with Microsoft, to evolve and improve its ambitions for the future. metaverse.
“Facebook, Google, Tencent, NetEase, Amazon, Apple, Sony, Disney, and many more have ambitions for their own gaming initiatives and metaverses. Established and emerging competitors see the opportunity for virtual worlds filled with professionally produced content, content user generated and rich social connections. Our talent and our games are important components of building a rich metaverse. We have always attracted the best game creators and built the best games, seizing opportunity with passion, inspiration, focus, and determination,” Kotick said.
Xbox Game Studios would go from 23 to 33 studios
With the acquisition of Bethesda Softworks, Xbox Game Studios was left with 23 studios under its charge. Among them are 343 Industries, The Coalition, Double Fine, The Initiative, Ninja Theory, Obsidian, Rare, Id, Arkane, and Bethesda Game Studios.
Now, with the new announcement, the company would integrate 10 studios for a total of 33.
According to Kotick in his statement, the closing of the business would take place sometime in Microsoft’s fiscal year 2023, which ends on June 30, 2023.
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