Microsoft Details Activision Blizzard Acquisition, Exclusives, and Game Pass

gamerant.com:

One of the biggest pieces of gaming news in 2022 came towards the start of the year when Microsoft announced that it had acquired Activision Blizzard. While the process has yet to be finalized, things seem to be slowly progressing as Microsoft executives continue to discuss the move and how it will impact the Xbox ecosystem. At the very least, Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard gives the company access to hugely popular IPs and franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

This fact has left many in the community not on an Xbox platform worried that things are about to change for their favorite titles. Over the past few months, Microsoft leadership like Phil Spencer have gone on record to assuage those fears, recommitting franchises like Call of Duty remaining multiplatform and not becoming a first party Xbox exclusive. With Game Pass proving to be incredibly popular and a stable of franchises to work with, Microsoft has shed light on its plans for Activision Blizzard titles for the future.

Xbox Game Pass To Receive Curated Demos in 2023

During a recent media briefing, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty addressed the idea of exclusive titles and clarifying the company's stance on current Activision Blizzard multiplatform games. Without going into specific titles, Booty confirmed that if Microsoft acquires a game with a large pre-existing multiplatform community, «the last thing we want to do is take something away. If anything, we feel that it's our job to be caretakers, to be shepherds, to continue to build and nurture that community, not to cut it up into pieces and try to take some of it away.»

Following up on that comment, GM for Programming and Events Tina Summerford specifically mentioned Minecraft as a good