There was a lot of hubbub when Xbox first announced it would be acquiring Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion, and new pieces of the story keep coming out. At the time of the announcement, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that Game Pass would receive “as many Activision Blizzard games” as possible, and now there are new details about some of the specific series.
Phil Spencer published a statement about the acquisition on the Microsoft blog. He reiterates the team’s plan to bring these titles to Game Pass and name-drops some specific ones. “We intend to make Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games — including Overwatch, Diablo, and Call of Duty — available in Game Pass and to grow those gaming communities,” the statement reads. Since the acquisition news, many Xbox users have been wondering if the likes of Call of Duty and Diablo would come to Game Pass. This is the first time anyone has been explicit about which titles are coming to the service.
It isn’t a complete answer, though. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Diablo IV, and Overwatch 2 are the next games in each of the named series, and it’s unclear if any of those will be making their way to Game Pass. The Activision Blizzard acquisition isn’t expected to close until the end of June 2023, and at least two of those games are set to release before that date. We’ll have to wait for specific additions at a later date.
Considering how long we’ve known about the deal, you might wonder why Spencer felt the need to publish a statement at all. While many still expect the acquisition to go through, there have been plenty of speed bumps along the way. Most recently, a UK regulator claimed that the deal could impair Sony’s ability to compete. Prior to that, we saw Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick reelected to his position amidst ongoing controversy and scheduled employee walkouts in response to various company practices.
