We do not yet know exactly how Microsoft will do, but every decision will be closely scrutinized. Indeed, thanks to its acquisition of the giant Activision-Blizzard-King, one of the five largest groups in the video game industry, the Xbox builder recovers well-known licenses such as Warcraft or Call of Duty, but also a bunch of IPs that have been purchased over the last 15 years (and more) by its new subsidiary.
It must be said that before becoming the ABK group (the King being one of the giants of mobile games, in particular thanks to Candy Crush), Activision had merged with the French Vivendi Universal to form the future new group. A merger that had allowed Bobby Kotick and his studio to recover the old licenses of Sierra On-Line and Vivendi Games Mobile. Among these titles, Caesar, Gobliiins and the games Coktel Vision, Ground Control or even Police Quest, which had given the spin-off SWAT. The merger with Blizzard then made it possible to obtain the series Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo. Today, we can add the call of duty obviously, but also Spyro and Crash Bandicoot, two licenses which were no longer specifically in Activision’s pipes, but which will undoubtedly have a card to play. Find a fairly complete list of these licenses on this link.
Call of Duty, Warcraft and more in Xbox Game Pass
But what about the consoles that will benefit? The majority of these games have been a hit on PlayStations recently. Call of Duty is notably one of the most played and purchased franchises on Sony consoles each year. When Microsoft acquired Bethesda and its IP Elder Scrolls, the question of the excluded arose. Finally, Phil Spencer, the boss of Xbox has reminded him several times recently: the brand’s future games will be released exclusively on Xbox Series and Xbox One. Not necessarily always a total and permanent exclusivity, but at least in day one, and before everyone else on Xbox Game Pass and PC. Can we move towards the same practice with ABK games?
Phil Spencer, the big boss of the Xbox branch who becomes CEO of Microsoft Gaming and therefore boss of Bobby Kotick (maintained at least until 2023), seems to confirm it since he has already announced that it will put “the most Activision-Blizzard games in Xbox Game Pass” for PC and Xbox, including old franchises and older titles. The validation of this huge takeover, the largest in the industry, will normally be done in 2023 by video game regulators.