ActivisionBlizzard acquired for $69 Billion
ActivisionBlizzard acquired by microsoft .
After previously spending 7.5 billion on Bethesda, Microsoft announced earlier this year that it would purchase Activision Blizzard for approximately $69 billion. While the deal isn't expected to close until sometime next year, that doesn't mean there have been tons of questions and concerns. Microsoft now has sole ownership of Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch. If that doesn't at least peak your interest or affect you in any way, it should. What does this mean, besides the obvious studio and IP acquisitions? Is this good for the industry, and what kind of path does it put us on in the future? Let's discuss it a little bit and talk about some possible outcomes I'd personally like to see.
Let's start with the big one: Call of Duty. We're now in a world where Call of Duty could be an Xbox exclusive and join the lineup of other shooters, including Halo, Wolfenstein, and Doom. If you had told me that 6 months ago, I would've called you insane. Personally, I do think we'll get to that point as early as 2025, depending on what contracts are made up already and what sort of deals are in place, as Xbox is sure to honor them as they did with Bethesda and Deathloop. However, I don't see Duty being completely gone from Playstation; with Warzone being the bread and butter of the franchise now. Xbox probably considers it a "legacy title," continuing support and updating it as they do with Elder Scrolls Online. The core multi-player and campaign, though, will probably end up on Game Pass.
Once Playstation mascots in the early days, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro are now under the green umbrella. These two IPs are what I'm most excited about as a result of the Activision deal, as the most recent studio to handle the IP (Toys for Bob) became a CoD support studio last year, and this acquisition breathes new life into them. Whether they end up back in the hands of the team that brought the duo to current-gen systems and successfully brought us a new Crash, or something crazier happens, such as a team at Double Fine or even Rare getting a crack at either title, it would be a joy to see. In my eyes Xbox now owns some of the greatest platformers around and it would be blind to not use them in any capacity. (Looking at you, Banjo).
One of my favorite games of all time that truly shaped who I am as a gamer is World of Warcraft. I have countless memories that are sprinkled throughout my life where it's hard NOT to think of a time when WoW wasn't a major player. Now it's about time to want it on console. This will be a hotly debated topic in the community because MMOs "aren't meant to be on consoles,"fundamentaly people think they can't work on a gamepad, but Final Fantasy XIV would like to have a word. With the way WoW has been built over the past 10 years, it's reached a point where a large part of the game is more focused around casual play. Timegated content that requires you to log on for a few minutes a day to extend gameplay to doing Covenant missions or even pet battles doesn't REQUIRE a mouse and keyboard anymore and could fit easily on a gamepad. Even raiding, whether you like it or not, is so mainstream with stuff like raid finder. Why not let me do that content from the comfort of my couch?
On the other hand, this news could be worrying, especially if you're dedicated to PlayStation with the possibility of losing these titles in some way, shape, or form. For what Xbox views the future of gaming to be, this fits perfectly into that plan. More rumors about an Xbox streaming stick have been circulating, and with the recent reveal of an Xbox streaming app on Samsung TVs, these exclusive games should still be easily accessible. Will this be the event that causes Sony to open the doors and allow Game Pass to flood the Playstation ecosystem, becoming the norm, or will it cause Sony to bunker down and do some major shopping of their own with EA or Ubisoft? That's all yet to be seen, and I don't think we'll fully see the ramifications of this for another year or two, but it's a crazy exciting time to be an Xbox gamer. What do you think about this news? What do you want or don't want to see? Let me know down below and let's have a discussion! Till next time, everyone, happy gaming. See you online!