Microsoft Xbox has confirmed that they have acquired Activision Blizzard, the makers of blockbuster games like Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Diablo.
In one of the biggest gaming news of the year, the announcement was first reported by Wall Street Journal and it was verified shortly afterward with an official announcement made on the Xbox Wire.
Activision Blizzard owns several popular IPs like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, Starcraft, Candy Crush, and many more. They also have control of the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro The Dragon IP which should further bolster the IP portfolio for Microsoft.
Phil Spencer, who was originally the head of Xbox at Microsoft has been promoted to the CEO of Microsoft Gaming. In the Xbox Wire blog post, he talked about this acquisition in detail.
“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, “writes Phil Spencer.
“We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented, dedicated people across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and every team across Activision Blizzard.”
“Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.”
This deal will further help the popularity of the Xbox Game Pass which continues to gain subscribers boosting its overall count to record levels. Microsoft has made two major acquisitions recently from Bethesda/Zenimax to Activision Blizzard. They are fully committed to adding as many IPs under their Game Pass brand and the Xbox ecosystem as possible.
