Brotaku

Microsoft has announced the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion which will be paid in cash, the acquisition is expected to close by the 30th of June 2023. The acquisition includes Activision Blizzard and all of its subsidiaries and once it closes it will make Microsoft the third biggest video game company in the world behind Tencent and Sony. Activision Blizzard will continue to operate independently until the acquisition is finalized.

The acquisition will see the Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diable, Overwatch, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Tony Hawk and more join the Xbox library of IP. Once the acquisition is completed Microsoft will add “as many Activision Blizzard games as we can” to Xbox Game Pass, including new releases and back-catalogue titles. Activision Blizzard will report directly to Microsoft Gaming once the acquisition is complete. Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, will continue to serve as CEO until the completion of the deal, it is currently unclear as to whether he will retain his role once the acquisition has closed.

According to Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, “Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward.” Bloomberg has also reported that Microsoft Gaming plans to release Activision Blizzard games on PlayStation and other platforms but that it will keep some content exclusive to Xbox.