The question that we’ve all been thinking since Microsoft announced its acquisition of Activision is whether or not Call of Duty would be on Game Pass, and now we have an official answer. Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, took to a blog post today to detail the plans for some of Activision’s titles should the sale go through. The biggest news is that Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Diablo would make their way to Game Pass for sure. But Phil also gave us more insight as to what we can expect from the merger, so let’s take a closer look below.
Call of Duty Game Pass release confirmed
While the official purchase of Activision is still under scrutiny by various government powers, Microsoft is working full steam ahead on the acquisition. It’s long been debated on whether this purchase would be good for the community as a whole, and Microsoft is doing their best to reassure both gamers and critics that it won’t leave people out in the cold.
For starters, Phil reassured everyone that Call of Duty would still release on PlayStation at the same time as other platforms and cross-play would still function as normal, as if nothing changed. This is good news, and something that we’re happy Microsoft continues to shout to tell us their plans haven’t changed.
However, the new news here is that Phil confirmed that Microsoft plans to make “…Activision Blizzard’s much-loved library of games – including Overwatch, Diablo, and Call of Duty – available in Game Pass…” Yep, you read that right. Microsoft is now confirming that Call of Duty, among other games, will be included in the Game Pass lineup, so long as the acquisition goes through fully. This will not only make it easier to play and even more attainable for many, but will also help grow both the gaming community as a whole and the smaller subset of those specific titles. Phil also touched on one of the reasons for the Activision acquisition being expanding to and developing for mobile platforms.
Of course nothing is set in stone yet, as the acquisition has yet to be formally approved by the powers that be, so only time will tell if this actually goes all the way through.
9to5Toys’ Take
I’ve been a fan of the Microsoft/Activision acquisition since it was announced, and have held out hope that Call of Duty, among other titles, would make their way to Game Pass. However, it’s nice to finally have confirmation that the move will actually happen should acquisition go through.
With Microsoft’s commitment to gamers and the community, as well as the company’s high internal standards for titles, I see nothing but good coming out of this purchase and hope regulators can see the same. Microsoft has been the most inclusive in the gaming sphere welcoming cross-platform play and giving people the widest library of titles to enjoy from the beginning, whereas Sony still locks down so much of its capabilities by limiting what can happen on its consoles.
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