For years, Microsoft employees have enjoyed a perk that gives them free subscriptions to Game Pass Ultimate, and that benefit was on track to be discontinued until Xbox boss Phil Spencer stepped in and saved the day.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Explains Why Game Pass Isn’t Getting Activision Blizzard Games Before 2024
18.10.2023 - 15:59 / wccftech.com / Phil Spencer
Microsoft finally managed to close its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard last Friday, following a saga that started in mid-January 2022 and went through film-worthy twists and turns.
When the merger was first announced, Phil Spencer promised that upon closure, Microsoft would offer Activision Blizzard's games on the Game Pass subscription service, mimicking what users experienced with the prior acquisition of Bethesda. However, that won't happen any time soon, as Spencer himself said it would take months to do so.
Speaking on the official Xbox Podcast, the Microsoft Gaming CEO explained that the delay is due to the uncertainty that surrounded the Activision Blizzard deal until the last moment. As such, the work is only just beginning, whereas that wasn't an issue with the Bethesda acquisition since there were no major regulatory hurdles.
When we finished the Bethesda acquisition, there was this great moment. We were able to put a bunch of the back catalog games [on Game Pass] and celebrate their history. The truth of the matter is that, with Activision Blizzard King, the regulatory process took so long.
And frankly, there was a lot of uncertainty in that process up until really a week before we closed,
or the week of, when the CMA finally came down to their decision, that we weren't able to get on that back catalog work. So now that the deal is closed, we're starting that work.
But there is work. And I think the Activision Twitter handle did put out a statement that talked about 2024. I think that's accurate. I would love it if there was some kind of secret celebration drop coming in the next couple of weeks. There's not.
Definitely, when we think about the new games that are there, I would be straight with people. If we were going to put them in the subscription this year, I would tell people. And I know there'll be some disappointment about that.
This acquisition is definitely long-term for Microsoft, 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.
During the Xbox Podcast, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming also revealed he would be traveling to Stockholm today to meet the King team. He's got appointments with Activision and Blizzard next week, too, now that he can finally meet the various companies as their new leader.
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
comingsoon.net
25.10.2023 / 00:35
Microsoft Uncouples Game Pass Growth from CEO Satya Nadella’s Performance-Based Pay
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella now has one less milestone to worry about when it comes to his performance-based pay, as the company has dropped growth targets from the metrics used to determine his compensation. Although a LinkedIn post from September indicated that Game Pass may have over 30 million subscribers, this seemingly still falls short of the number of players the gaming giant had hoped to attract to its subscription service.
pcgamer.com
18.10.2023 / 21:45
Phil Spencer confirms that Activision Blizzard games won't come to Game Pass this year: 'Now that the deal is closed, we're starting that work, but there is work'
For gamers, one of the most alluring possibilities created by Microsoft's finally-completed acquisition of Activision Blizzard is the prospect of games like Call of Duty, Diablo, and Overwatch on Game Pass. Microsoft's subscription service is already a hell of a deal, and adding annualized iterations of Call of Duty plus everything Blizzard does makes it even more attractive. And it will no doubt happen eventually, but not anytime soon: Activision said last week that its games won't arrive on Game Pass until 2024 at the earliest, and in a recent interview with the Official Xbox Podcast, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that timeline is «accurate.»
gamespot.com
18.10.2023 / 17:41
Microsoft Won't Revive Activision Blizzard Games For Game Pass If It's A Cash Grab
«The amount of franchises that we now have in our portfolio is kind of inspiring; it's daunting.»
gadgets.ndtv.com
18.10.2023 / 11:39
Xbox Game Pass Will Not Include Activision Games Like Call of Duty Until 2024, Phil Spencer Explains Why
Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard games won't appear on Xbox Game Pass until next year. On the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer claimed that players wouldn't be seeing a big drop of those titles immediately, due to the lengthy regulatory challenges the company faced in its buyout attempt. Since it was uncertain whether the acquisition would be approved by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) until recently, Xbox wasn't able to do the groundwork for adding the catalogue to their gaming subscription service. Ahead of the deal's closure, Activision Blizzard confirmed on Twitter that the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and newly-launched Diablo IV won't be coming to Game Pass soon, but Spencer's statement covers older titles as well.
gamingbolt.com
18.10.2023 / 10:33
Phil Spencer Wants to Revisit Old Activision Blizzard Games “With the Respect They Deserve”
With Activision Blizzard officially part of Xbox, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has discussed some plans for the future in a recent Xbox podcast. He confirmed that no titles from the publisher would come to Game Pass this year, though 2024 is more reasonable, and the era of exclusive betas and skins for Call of Duty on other platforms is over.
ign.com
17.10.2023 / 23:13
Phil Spencer Explains Why There Won't be any Activision Games on Game Pass in 2023
So, Xbox owns Activision-Blizzard now, right? So why are Call of Duty and Diablo not on Game Pass yet? That's been a question on many people's minds lately now that Xbox's massive acquisition has finally closed. And today, Xbox head Phil Spencer showed up on the Official Xbox Podcast to try and answer it.
gamingbolt.com
17.10.2023 / 23:09
Activision Blizzard Games Won’t Come to Game Pass Before 2024 – Phil Spencer
Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard surely hit its fair share of roadblocks in the approval process, but at long last, the deal was formally closed last week, with Microsoft officially welcoming Activision Blizzard King to Xbox. A deal of this magnitude is obviously going to have a significant impact on the industry for years to come, but where the immediate future is concerned, many will be hoping to see games in the Activision Blizzard back catalog being added to the Game Pass catalog.
videogameschronicle.com
17.10.2023 / 21:49
Xbox says not to expect surprise Activision Blizzard Game Pass drops this year
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said players shouldn’t expect the company to start adding Activision Blizzard titles to Game Pass soon.
theverge.com
17.10.2023 / 20:39
Xbox chief says Activision Blizzard games aren’t coming to Xbox Game Pass until 2024
By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.
gameranx.com
17.10.2023 / 14:09
Analysts Believe Half Of Game Pass Subscribers Will Be On Ultimate Before This Year Ends
Analysts are chiming in on the Xbox Activision Blizzard King merger, and they’re making some very bold predictions on what is coming next.
thesixthaxis.com
15.10.2023 / 12:59
Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard King
Microsoft has completed their vast $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, less than half a day after the UK Competition Markets Authority (CMA) gave their approval to a revised package of concessions.