It’s over – Microsoft has finally and officially purchased Activision Blizzard, and just like that, the family of studios, developers, and publishers under the Xbox banner has grown immensely. It was almost two years ago that Microsoft revealed its intention to purchase Activision Blizzard, and after weathering countless blockers, slowdowns, and court cases, the tech titan prevailed. As of today, Activision Blizzard King, to give it its full name, is firmly in the deep pockets of Microsoft.

In total, the acquisition set Microsoft back some $69 billion, making it the most valuable single transaction in the history of gaming – and in technology in general. It has been a remarkably long road for all those involved, and in a way, the hard work is only just beginning. From here on out, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will need to determine what comes next, from restructuring and partnerships to deciding what games will find their way to the Game Pass service.

Immense Growth

Now that Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard, it has secured a phenomenal collection of brands and titles, including:

Call of Duty
Crash Bandicoot
Guitar Hero
Hearthstone
Heroes of the Storm
Overwatch
Tony Hawk’s
StarCraft
Candy Crush Saga

It’s a huge win for Microsoft – even if some compromises had to be made to allow the deal to be greenlit by regulators over the last few months.

It was recently explained that Activision Blizzard’s games will start to be onboarded to the Game Pass service at some point in the next year, but it isn’t yet known what games will arrive first. We know that Modern Warfare III won’t go anywhere near Game Pass for the foreseeable, but what about Call of Duty 2024?

Typically, any Microsoft-owned studio will have its games listed on Game Pass the day they are released. For instance, Bethesda Game Studios developed Starfield, and the day it launched, it went live on Game Pass for no added cost. Will we see Call of Duty games arrive on Game Pass from the moment they’re released? These are the questions that remain unanswered at this point.

What Happens Now?

Microsoft has gained a monumental piece of gaming history by securing the purchase of Activision Blizzard. This now means that Xbox gains a foothold in the esports industry, given that it now owns the parent company of the Call of Duty League and the Overwatch League – whatever is happening with that.

Not only that but with ‘King’ being acquired too, Microsoft now has a much stronger position in the mobile gaming industry, which is proving to be more lucrative as time goes on. With this acquisition, Microsoft claims ownership of the likes of Candy Crush and Call of Duty Mobile, some of the most popular mobile games in history.