Microsoft has confirmed what we knew was inevitable – Activision Blizzard titles will be on Xbox Game Pass – and likely on day one like other first-party titles.
“Subscription services like Game Pass make gaming more affordable and help players from all over the world find their next favourite game,” Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer said. “Game Pass empowers developers to bring more games to more players, not fewer. 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.”
Whether or not Activision Blizzard titles from series like Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Diablo make it to Xbox Game Pass relies on Microsoft’s acquisition of the massive company, for an equally massive $68.7 billion with a B.
It remains unclear if the latest title from each series will launch for Xbox Game Pass on day one, or rather the previous titles like Diablo III or the Diablo II Resurrected remaster. Spencer described their approach to the Acti-Blizzard library as “principled” and that Microsoft “welcomes” questions being posed by anti-trust regulators.
“As we extend our gaming storefront across new devices and platforms,” Spencer notes, “we will make sure that we do so in a manner that protects the ability of developers to choose how to distribute their games. We will continue to engage with regulators with a spirit of transparency and openness as they review this acquisition. We believe that a thorough review will show that the combination of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will benefit the industry and players.”
Activision Blizzard has a stacked lineup of big titles from 2022 onwards, Overwatch 2 is launching on October 4th, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II reboot was previously dated for October 28th, and Diablo IV is probably launching in 2023.