In the near future, Microsoft will join Activision Blizzard to its family, which is a moment that many gamers have been waiting for. In the face of high expectations regarding the company’s largest IPs, a statement has been published regarding the availability of games on Xbox Game Pass. We’ll have to wait until next year for the fun.
Phil Spencer announced that after purchasing Activision Blizzard, the corporation will be able to expand the service with a number of excellent titles. The contracts do not allow for adding all productions to the catalog, but players can get ready for several high-profile titles.
Activision Blizzard announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 will not be included in Xbox Game Pass in 2023, and the publisher “anticipates” expanding the service’s offer from next year.
It’s great to see the anticipation building for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. As we work towards regulatory approval of our agreement with Microsoft, we are receiving questions about whether our upcoming and recently released games will be available on Game Pass.
While we have no plans to bring Modern Warfare® III or Diablo IV to Game Pass this year, once the transaction closes, we expect to partner with Xbox to make our titles available to more gamers around the world. We expect to start adding games to Game Pass next year.
It’s awesome to see anticipation building for Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III. As we continue to work toward regulatory approval of the Microsoft deal, we’ve been getting some questions whether our upcoming and recently launched games will be available via Game Pass.
While we…
— Activision Blizzard (@ATVI_AB) October 9, 2023
The statement published by the corporation most likely refers only to the newest titles. Jez Corden from the WindowsCentral editorial office sought information “from his sources” and according to them, the Redmond giant may have extremely grand plans:
There are dozens of games that Microsoft and Activision could potentially add to Xbox Game Pass as part of this acquisition. Despite this statement, and according to our own sources, we expect plenty of new games to come to Xbox Game Pass once the deal is finalized.
Even if subscription subscribers cannot count on the immediate addition of the latest titles, Microsoft will want to expand Xbox Game Pass to include older Activision Blizzard projects immediately after the acquisition – just like it did after Bethesda’s official welcome.
The journalist mentions the summer revival of servers for older Call of Duty games, which may be related to the inevitable release of games on Xbox Game Pass. The company can study customer behavior and server load to avoid a negative impact on the launch of a new shooter.
Over the summer, Microsoft and Activision revitalized Xbox 360 servers for classic Call of Duty games, leading to a large increase in user numbers. The obvious assumption is that Microsoft might want to include classic Call of Duty games on the service initially. Microsoft could potentially study the impact on user behavior before disrupting the Call of Duty premium experience.
Source: Windows Central