Xbox acquires Activision Blizzard, makers of Call of Duty, Spyro and more

radiotimes.com:

Buying Bethesda wasn't enough for Microsoft, and Xbox Game Pass is sure to benefit here.

This competition is now closed

By Rob Leane

Published:

In a stunning move, Microsoft has announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard and add its many franchises to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. According to Forbes, the deal will cost the Xbox-owning tech giant a whopping $70 million USD (just over £50 million GBP).

Microsoft announced the news on the Xbox Wire blog, declaring its intention to bring “every team across Activision Blizzard” into Xbox Game Studios as part of this industry-reshaping deal. Certainly, this just made the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles look even more appealing.

This means that, once the deal is finalised, Microsoft/Xbox will become the proud owners of 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.

Among that list of companies set to be acquired by Microsoft are the teams behind Call of Duty, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, Overwatch, Diablo, Guitar Hero, the Tony Hawk games, Hearthstone, StarCraft and more franchises besides.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in the announcement: “Upon close, 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 Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog.”

Spencer added: “The fantastic franchises across Activision Blizzard will also accelerate our plans for Cloud Gaming, allowing more people in more places around the world to participate in the Xbox community