After a long and tumultuous journey from the initial announcement that Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for what was initially reported at $69 billion in total, it is now official. Microsoft has now taken to its Xbox Wire to welcome the Activision, Blizzard, and King camp saying today it is ready to “officially welcome Activision Blizzard and their teams to Xbox.” There’s a new trailer to mark the occasion and you can see that alongside some additional details below.
Microsoft officially closes $69B deal to acquire Activision, Blizzard and King
After a year and half of negotiations with regulators across the globe, the deal is now official. And it’s a big one. Microsoft said today that it has now officially closed its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, alongside all of their properties and game studios, to further strengthen Microsoft’s foothold on gaming. Reports suggest it is the largest consumer tech deal of its sort in more than two decades.
Welcoming the legendary teams and franchises of Activision Blizzard King to Xbox. Creators of Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Diablo, Overwatch, Warcraft, and more. It’s a good day to play.
Microsoft says it believes today’s news “will unlock a world of possibilities for more ways to play.” With loads of top-tier multi-platform titles enjoyed by millions of gamers now under the Xbox wing, including “Pitfall. Call of Duty, World of Warcraft. Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga, and Farm Heroes Super Saga, Microsoft also wants to reassure gamers no matter what system they enjoys these titles on:
Whether you play on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC or mobile, you are welcome here – and will remain welcome, even if Xbox isn’t where you play your favorite franchise. Because when everyone plays, we all win.
How all of this actually ends up shaking out remains to be seen, but it, at least, sounds as though Microsoft will continue support these titles on other platforms for some time. It wouldn’t surprising for all of them to somehow roll into the Game Pass program, or some further form of it, but for now it looks like support on PlayStation, Nintendo, and mobile will remain.
As promised, we will also continue to make more games available in more places – and that begins now by enabling cloud streaming providers and players to stream Activision Blizzard games in the European Economic Area, a commitment made to the European Commission. Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms. We’ll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you’re excited – and we are too.
Get a closer look at the details straight from Xbox Wire and in our initial coverage right here.
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