Quick Take - Microsoft-Activision Acqusition

The Deal is Done... Now What?

The New Era of Consolidation

The Microsoft acquisition of Activision-Blizzard has finally closed after almost two years of legal fights and questions. The deal was both loved by Xbox fans and even some Nintendo fans, while also being hated by PlayStation fans and other gamers. There were also some, like myself, who were happy about the commitment Microsoft made to help the employees of Activision-Blizzard who had been met with issues regarding sexual harassment and forming unions. When it comes down to it, this is a very controversial and polarizing acquisition with a set of pros and cons.

There are real questions about industry consolidation and what it could mean for the industry as a whole. It only makes sense that with video games finally taking their place among movies and music in the entertainment space, big corporate companies would take interest in it. Now, I’m of the personal mindset that I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. Nintendo has shown you don’t need to be a big corporation or big tech company to survive. In fact, it was Nintendo that showed how Sony’s Call of Duty argument wasn’t a very good one. Nintendo has sold its hardware on innovation and their powerful catalog of games. They technically don’t need third party software to do so. There’s also the rise of indies, which have shown to be getting the same interest as big AAA titles. And lastly, a big company entering doesn’t mean they will crush everyone. Amazon is still trying to work on getting gaming done right and Google bounced after Stadia didn’t take off.

However, there are legitimate concerns about consolidation. Do we really want to live in a world similar to movies, which has major studios that control most of the distribution. Big companies can come in with only profit in mind and ignore decisions based on more pro-consumer or artistic design choices. And what’s to stop Microsoft from buying more major names like Sega, Ubisoft, Take Two, and more? Furthermore, how does this affect the workers and developers making these games? These are real questions that will probably be answered in the next decade. I don’t want to ignore people who have these concerns. But personally, I don’t think we have to worry about it. Other industries have had this happen as they got bigger, and they are just fine. I’ve noticed a lot lately that gamers HATE change, and this definitely is a big one. But the deal is closed, and those debates are still going to go on. The real question is what now?

What Will Probably Happen

So, what do I think we will see happen? Well, we know one thing, Phil Spencer confirmed in an interview on the Xbox Podcast that we won’t get Activision or Blizzard titles on Game Pass until 2024. My guess is that this is because the FTC is still trying to do “something” on the deal, and they want to make sure they have their legal ducks in a row. There’s also the fact that I’ve heard it said that the Game Pass SDK is different, and you can’t just stick something in there as easily as you would think. Plus, Phil is still trying to figure out how they are going to do this. Will some studios come over to Xbox Games Studios? How much Call of Duty do we put on Game Pass? Plus, don’t forget they now have to put titles on the Nintendo Switch and successor. It’s a lot to take in.

My personal prediction is that Microsoft keeps Activision-Blizzard separate from everything else like they did with Bethesda. I think they potentially have some of the studios be free to work on more than just Call of Duty content. But for the most part, Activision-Blizzard titles will be more multiplatform than Bethesda. Some of those titles will be Day One Game Pass games and some might wait a bit. The real benefit will come in marketing as Xbox will control all of the narrative with these games and make it known the best way to play them is on Xbox.

What I Want to See Happen

Now for some things I would like to happen. First, I want to see studios that were forced to work of Call of Duty support and content be given their freedom. I want to see studios be given options by Microsoft to work either on completely new ideas or reviving old ideas. I want someone like Toys for Bob to potentially look into reviving Banjo-Kazooie. Call of Duty should not be a yearly franchise, outside of updates to Warzone. I think biannual releases make more sese and gives the teams more time to work on the games. I want it all on Game Pass. As a proud subscriber of the service, I want all those games on Game Pass day one. And last but not least, with the exception of studios working on Xbox owned IP, I want these games to remain multiplatform.

Final Thoughts

This is a new era no matter what side of the fence you fell into when the deal and the court battles were happening. Now its on Microsoft to take advantage and show this was not a move made just to have more games or stick it to PlayStation. The next few years for Xbox are about to get much more interesting…