Microsoft To Buy Activision, Adding "Many" Games To Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft has announced that it intends to acquire Activision for $68.7 billion, potentially adding properties like Call Of Duty: Warzone, World of Warcraft, Overwatch and many more to the range of titles available in Xbox Game Pass.

"Over many decades, the studios and teams that make up Activision Blizzard have earned vast wellsprings of joy and respect from billions of people all over the world," said Phil Spencer in a statement published to Xbox Wire, rattling off the list of Activision subsidiaries like Blizzard Entertainment, Infinity Ward, King, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and more that will become a part of the company once the acquisition is complete.

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"Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog," continued Spencer. That's very intriguing news indeed, with the prospect of more Call of Duty games coming to the subscription service as well as titles like World of Warcraft, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, StarCraft...

Seeing that Activision has found itself in hot water following allegations of a toxic culture that encouraged the racial and sexual harassment of women, some might be surprised that Microsoft has elected to acquire the publisher, especially after Spencer expressed shock towards Activision in an internal email to Xbox employees.

"As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players," said the chief of Xbox, explaining that the acquisition will mean that Activision Blizzard business will be his responsibility like the rest of the other studios under Microsoft's umbrella. "We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard."

Details are still up in the air, understandably, so we'll have to hold our horses until further announcements emerge from either Microsoft or Activision. It's also important to note that the affirmation that more popular games are coming to Xbox Game Pass from one of the biggest publishers in the world, that won't be for some time yet. Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media was announced in September 2020 and completed in March 2021, so, there's no need to refresh the Xbox Game Pass list every hour in light of this news.