This is huge news for UK gamers. UK regulators have approved Microsoft's offer to buy Activision Blizzard, the gaming company best known for Call of Duty.
This £59 billion deal will be the gaming industry’s largest ever takeover. And when it goes through, Microsoft will control games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. So, if you’re a fan of any of those titles, what can you expect in the future?
What the Microsoft deal means for UK gamers
This takeover makes Microsoft a confirmed video gaming giant. Gaming experts predict that Microsoft could climb above Nintendo to become the third largest player in the gaming world, with only Sony (owners of PlayStation) and Tencent (the huge Chinese tech company) ahead of them.
That’s good news for Microsoft. And if you’re an Xbox owner it could be good for you too - because you can expect more games to become available on your Game Pass subscription.
Game Pass is the Microsoft subscription service that gives gamers access to a huge catalogue of games on-demand. The Activision Blizzard deal should add even more epic games to the catalogue, including Call of Duty and Diablo releases. What’s more, future Activision Blizzard titles could become Xbox exclusives – although Microsoft has said all existing Activision Blizzard contracts will be honoured.
The Activision Blizzard deal also means Microsoft will now own a studio dedicated to mobile games, so no doubt it’ll be trying to harness the magic of Candy Crush in its future phone offerings.
Will Game Pass increase in price?
A Game Pass subscription offers amazing value for Xbox gamers, giving them access to hundreds of titles per year including AAA releases like Forza and Halo. But will the Activision Blizzard deal mean a price increase?
Industry experts don’t predict a price rise any time soon. For starters, we’ve already had a slight price increase this year back in July. And with rumours circulating that Sony could launch its own gaming subscription service, now could be a bad time for Microsoft to make its own offer less attractive.
Is the Microsoft deal good news for PC gamers?
Microsoft is committed to PC gaming, with new AAA titles such as Halo and Forza launching day one on PC. The PC Game Pass offers the same kind of benefits as the Xbox Game Pass, so new Activision Blizzard titles should be part of the service soon.
The Steam PC gaming service could also see some new Activision Blizzard games landing on it. Microsoft is already putting plenty of games on there including Halo, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see future Activision Blizzard titles released on Steam from day one.
Will Call of Duty still be available on PlayStation?
Finally, the big question that PlayStation owners are already asking. Will they still be able to play Call of Duty games in the future, or does this new deal mean that it could become an Xbox exclusive?
This was one of the reasons why Sony opposed the deal so strongly until just a few weeks ago. But now, it seems there’s good news for PlayStation owners.
Sony has agreed a deal with Microsoft to keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation for at least 10 years. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer tweeted (or should that be ‘X’ed?): “We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favourite games.”
So, that seems pretty clear. If you’re a fan of Call of Duty on the PlayStation, you’ve got years of missions ahead of you. Lock and load!