Microsoft is taken another step to become the biggest game developer in the market with the complete purchase of Activision Blizzard for a earth shattering $68.7 billion. This purchase will bring such titles as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Crash bandicoot (yes the PlayStation mascot), and many many more under the Xbox brand. The deal is set to be closed no later than June 2023, with Microsoft already stating that there would be very minimal staff changing once completed”.
Currently Activision Blizzard is under massive scrutiny for the misconduct scandal that has seen many pushing for Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick to resign. While Kotick will remain on until the deal is complete, he is already set to be resigning shortly after it closes, with Xbox Head Phil Spencer absorbing all duties.
The big question on everyone’s mind (including Sony), is whether this will effect popular games such as Call of Duty from releasing on PlayStation., Currently Sony have contracts in places with Activision Blizzard and most likely that will see the next few release being made for the platform, but once that contract expires – its really up to Microsoft if they want the extra revenue from PlayStation sales. Perhaps with enough incentive Microsoft might convince Sony to allow Xbox Game Pass for PlayStation users – bringing even more games to PlayStation users – but who knows.
In the meantime, check out the full letter from Activision Blizzard Book Kotick on the purchase.
