The head of Xbox has confirmed that Activision Blizzard games like Call of Duty won’t be hitting Game Pass for months.
Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, has confirmed that Game Pass won’t be getting Activision or Blizzard games for “months”.
Today, we can now begin the work of bringing Activision Blizzard King’s iconic and groundbreaking games to Xbox Game Pass. We can’t wait to share more details in the coming months. https://t.co/FMQdbnqlPb
— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) October 13, 2023
In a post on Xbox Wire, Spencer said:
“We’ll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you’re excited – and we are too.”
Today is a good day to play. We officially welcome Activision Blizzard King to Team Xbox. Together, we’ll create stories and experiences that bring players together, in a culture empowering everyone to do their best work and celebrate diverse perspectives. https://t.co/KBCESknYYh https://t.co/jTHOeH48Wx
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 13, 2023
Game Pass is Microsoft’s subscription service for PC and Xbox, with first-party titles from Microsoft’s own development studios launching there first. The Activision Blizzard deal is assumed to be part of Microsoft’s plan to bolster its Game Pass offering with one of the some of popular franchises in all of gaming.
Game Pass won’t be getting Activision Blizzard games for a while yet
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Speculation started to stir as soon as the deal was announced in 2021, with players questioning when Call of Duty will land on Game Pass. Activision’s official X/Twitter account stated on Monday, October 9, that the latest Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 3, will not land on Game Pass until sometime in 2024. Diablo 4 was also confirmed for not being distributed on the platform either.
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
There are also complications from the deal’s court trial. Sony has a new 10-year deal for bringing Call of Duty to PlayStation platforms, with clauses in the contract presumably preventing Microsoft from launching the latest game on Game Pass day and date.
Spencer doesn’t detail any information regarding King titles, nor any information about how Game Pass and World of Warcraft will intertwine.
The $69 billion deal was closed today, with Microsoft securing this through selling off the streaming rights to Ubisoft. The French publisher will now handle streaming rights for Activision Blizzard titles outside of the EU.
It’s one of the largest tech acquisitions of all time, with Microsoft’s previous massive gaming purchase being Elder Scrolls and Fallout developer, Bethesda and its parent company, Zenimax.