The Xbox Game Pass Transition: Helping Xbox CEO Bobby Kotick to Lead the Games & Entertainment Operations at Activision Blizzard
It is a great day to play. Microsoft completed its acquisition of the assets of Activision Blizzard and is welcoming it to the gaming division.
The FTC case revealed lots of Xbox secrets, but the Xbox maker still faces close scrutiny from regulators. The Federal Trade Commission is still appealing its failure to secure a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft’s deal, with a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals due in December.
Microsoft’s obligations to the European Commission will allow consumers in EU countries to stream via “any cloud game streaming services of their choice” all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games that they have a license for.
Microsoft will now add more than nine game studios from the Blizzard side alone to its Xbox Game Studios, alongside games studios in more than 11 locations for the mobile gaming King side of the acquisition. Microsoft has become a publishing powerhouse with more than 8,500 employees now joining the company.
The deal is Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever, far in excess of the $26 billion Microsoft paid to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 and the $7.5 billion it paid to acquire Bethesda in 2021. This is Microsoft’s biggest-ever push into gaming, too, and the company said at the original announcement of this megadeal that it will now be the “third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.”
Activision Blizzard made it clear earlier this week that Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo IV won’t be coming to Xbox Game Pass this year, though. Microsoft did not provide an update on number of XBOX Game Pass subscribers since the announcement of 25 million subscribers.
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will remain in place to help with the transition until the end of 2023. “I have long said that I am fully committed to helping with the transition,” says Kotick in an email to Activision Blizzard employees today. Phil has asked me to stay as CEO of ABK, and we have agreed that I will do that through the end of 2023. We both look forward to working together on a smooth integration for our teams and players.”
Microsoft Virtual All-Hands for Xbox Employees – A Special Thanks to John, Marko, and Jernal on the Xbox Experience
I would like to give a special thanks to everyone who helped make the acquisition possible. We couldn’t have accomplished this without your dedication.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be visiting the Activision, Blizzard, and King offices, along with members of our Gaming Leadership Team. We’ll have the opportunity to welcome our new colleagues at our next virtual all-hands for Xbox employees, and for the greater Microsoft community, we’ll discuss this and more in the November 8 session of the Company Strategy Series.