In a shocking move today, Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard for a massive $68.7 billion USD in a move that echoes the Xbox publisher’s purchase of Bethesda back in 2020. However, that deal was only worth around $7.5 billion, which was more than Disney paid for the Star Wars franchise. Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard gives Xbox control of the publisher’s IP, so will Call of Duty be an Xbox exclusive now?
Microsoft buys Activision for $68.7 billion USD
As Microsoft announced in a blog post today, the publisher is buying Activision Blizzard. Forbes reports this deal is for a whopping $68.7 billion, nearly ten times what Microsoft paid for Bethesda and all its studios, and it’ll make Microsoft “the third-largest gaming company by revenue” in the world once it’s complete.
In terms of what this gets Microsoft, it will acquire all of Activision Blizzard’s IP such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, and Candy Crush, not to mention developers such as Treyarch, High Moon, Raven Software, Infinity Ward, and Blizzard itself. Any or all of these could and probably will go Xbox exclusive on consoles as of next year, and Microsoft promises to put “as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass” once the deal goes through — all of which will be a massive blow for Sony and PlayStation.
Will Call of Duty be an Xbox exclusive?
It is very likely that the annual Call of Duty games will become Xbox exclusives but Call of Duty: Warzone could possibly remain on PS4/PS5, as it is already out. As the deal doesn’t go through until 2023 this year’s Call of Duty — rumored to be another Modern Warfare game — will be multiplatform, and Call of Duty 2023 could still be too. However, much like Starfield with the Bethesda purchase, Call of Duty 2024 onward will almost certainly be an Xbox and PC exclusive.
