As was widely expected, Xbox fans should not expect any Activision Blizzard King games to appear on Xbox Game Pass until 2024. When Microsoft closed its blockbuster deal to buy the Call of Duty giant this month, some thought Microsoft might put some ABK games on Game Pass right away, but that’s not going to be the case.
Appearing on the Xbox podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said Microsoft was not able to do the work to get any ABK games on Game Pass until the deal closed. That only just happened, so Microsoft is now “starting the work,” Spencer said, according to The Verge.
Activision’s own statement on the matter, which was released before the deal closed, confirmed that Modern Warfare III and Diablo IV will not come to Game Pass in 2023. The company said it anticipates its games coming to Game Pass “sometime in the course of [2024].”
In the podcast interview, Spencer added, “I would love it if there was some kind of secret celebration drop that’s coming in the next couple of weeks–there’s not.”
He went on to say he understands this is disappointing, but Microsoft is taking a long-term approach to the ABK deal. “So the fact that we’re not hitting day one with a bunch of games dropping in to Game Pass is a little bit of a downer, but I’m very excited about the future. And I just want to be straight with people that that’s where we are,” he said.
Microsoft paid $68.7 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard as part of the biggest acquisition in video game history and one of the largest ever in the technology space. As part of the deal, Microsoft gets ownership of every ABK game and studio. Spencer asked controversial CEO Bobby Kotick to stay on through 2023, but whether or not he leaves in 2024 is unknown.
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