What Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard Means for You
Microsoft has announced its intention to purchase Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, ushering in the largest single acquisition in video gaming history. So what could the deal ultimately mean for people who enjoy games?
Microsoft is betting big on Game Pass for the future. The service, where gamers can pay a flat fee each month and have access to a huge catalog of games on-demand, hit 25 million subscribers in January 2022. The company has doubled down on the model with the addition of Xbox Cloud Gaming, which means you don’t even need a console to use Game Pass anymore.
Acquisitions like Activision Blizzard should be viewed through the lens of the company’s subscription-based business model. When Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media (including Bethesda), a huge number of titles were added to Game Pass. This included older Fallout and Elder Scrolls games but also newer titles like Dishonored 2 and a revamped re-release of Quake II as soon as it launched.
The Activision deal will bring a huge number Activision titles to Game Pass for Xbox and PC. This could include titles made for older platforms like the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, something Microsoft has already done with other franchises that were brought under its umbrella, like Psychonauts (Xbox) and RAGE (Xbox 360).
This also goes for new Activision releases. Microsoft has heavily marketed the idea that all new first-party titles will be coming to Game Pass on the day of release. So that makes it very likely that future Call of Duty and Diablo releases will be available to Game Pass subscribers as part of their subscription, as soon as they’re ready.
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