Microsoft has announced that it will buy video game publisher Activision Blizzard for around $69 billion. What are the consequences for gamers on other platforms?
Acquiring Activision Blizzard would make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in the world – behind Tencent and Sony. Activision Blizzard’s portfolio includes famous titles such as “StarCraft”, “Guitar Hero”, “World of Warcraft”, “Overwatch” and also “Call of Duty”. Games of the Call of Duty series have been released for all platforms so far. TECHBOOK explains what the takeover by Microsoft means for Sony PlayStation users.
Call of Duty will be owned by Microsoft
By 2023, Microsoft wants to have completed the purchase of Activision Blizzard, as if from a internal mail emerges. After that, the company would own all of the publisher’s intellectual property, including Call of Duty. The series is with 400 million copies sold the third largest video game franchise in the world, behind only Nintendo’s Mario and Tetris. However, a majority of Call of Duty players use Sony’s PlayStation – the closest competition to Microsoft’s Xbox console. Now many gamers are rightly wondering whether they will still be able to access new Call of Duty titles in the future.
It’s a similar situation to what happened after publisher Bethesda was acquired in 2021. At the time, Xbox head Phil Spencer announced quite bluntly in a blog post that some Bethesda titles would be Microsoft exclusives in the future:
“Gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC and Game Pass will be the best places to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players in the future.”
Phil Spencer, Xbox head
Activision games should remain cross-platform
Still, Call of Duty players can rest easy for now. For now, Microsoft has no plans to pull the franchise away from the Sony PlayStation. In a press release, the company apparently committed to continue making games available across platforms. At least that’s what the words of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella suggest:
“Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone, across any device”
and
“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting entertainment category across all of today’s platforms […].”
Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO
According to “Bloomberg”, Xbox manager Spencer addresses the issue of PlayStation even more clearly in an interview:
“I’m just saying to the gamers out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It is not our intention to pull communities off of this platform and we stand by that.”
Phil Spencer, Xbox head
However, Bloomberg also writes that some Activision content will be released exclusively for the Xbox. At least that’s what a person familiar with Microsoft internals said.
sources