Live: Microsoft agrees to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion

Will Call of Duty become an Xbox exclusive?

There’s no doubt we’ll hear this question asked more than a few times now that Microsoft has agreed to buy Activision Blizzard, but the reality is that any exclusivity deals, particularly on something like Call of Duty, won’t transpire soon.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Xbox Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said: “I’ll just say to players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that.”

Spencer’s comment mirrors a previous statement he made in a press release announcing the acquisition. There, he said: “Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward.”

Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda in 2020 provides a touchstone by which to assess the potential exclusivity of its newly-acquired titles. Although it had initially shied away from announcing upcoming games would not find their way to PlayStation, it’s since confirmed that some future releases would be exclusive to Xbox and PC. The much-anticipated Starfield, The Elder Scrolls 6, and Redfall are among them.

When will Microsoft’s takeover happen?

Activision will continue to operate independently until Microsoft’s acquisition is complete, but when can we expect the deal to close? According to the takeover terms, Microsoft hopes to wrap things up in the fiscal year 2023, which falls between July 2022 and June 2023.

Once that happens, Activision Blizzard will officially become part of the Xbox team, and this could be when we start seeing its catalog of titles come to Xbox Game Pass. 

The calm before the storm

After today’s electrifying news of Microsoft’s potential acquisition and its repercussions for both companies and the video game industry at large, the news has started to slow down for the evening. 

Of course, it’s worth noting that this deal could face severe scrutiny here in the United States as TechRadar’s US Editor-in-Chief Lance Ulanoff points out.

“Since Microsoft is both a gaming studio owner and console manufacturer, the acquisition of Blizzard could be considered both horizontal and vertical … They’ll be looking at the definition of market concentration as a measure of competitive effects. Are they overweighting the existence of direct competition (think Microsoft vs. Sony) when considering the direct impact of, say, a $67.8 billion market consolidating deal?”

The TL;DR is that this deal, while potentially great on paper for some gamers, might violate some anti-monopoly laws. However, we’ll be waiting a while for the results of that investigation to come out.

More news coming later this week?

Is more big-time gaming news heading our way later this week? Gary Whitta, writer of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the upcoming Forspoken game on PS5, says that there’s some even bigger news in a cryptic tweet this afternoon. 

It’s hard to say what could be bigger than Microsoft acquiring one of the largest third-party publishers on the planet – but if anyone would know something, Whitta would.

Are these franchises going to be Xbox exclusive?

So what franchises does Microsoft gain in the Activision Blizzard takeover? Our own Patrick Dane tackled that question in a post today, and says that we can expect Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo, Guitar Hero, StarCraft, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Skylanders to all fall under Microsoft’s possession should the deal be approved.

The future of Xbox Game Pass is now

The thought of seeing Call of Duty hit Xbox Game Pass in the future is certainly exciting, but that doesn’t mean Microsoft’s subscription service isn’t already stocked full of awesome games to play.

The next wave of Xbox Game Pass titles includes Rainbow Six Extraction, Death’s Door, Hitman Trilogy, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition, Windjammers 2, and more – all hitting the service this month.

Now, imagine a month where loads of Activision Blizzard games drop onto Xbox Game Pass? As of today, that’s no longer just a figment of your imagination as it could happen in the near future. 

Will Bobby Kotick remain at Activision Blizzard if the takeover goes…