The deal is Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever, far in excess of the $26 billion Microsoft paid to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 and the $7.5 billion it paid to acquire Bethesda in 2021. This is Microsoft’s biggest-ever push into gaming, too, and the company said at the original announcement of this megadeal that it will now be the “third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.”
Microsoft now plans to add many of Activision Blizzard’s games to Xbox Game Pass, with franchises like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and even Candy Crush all now owned by Microsoft. Activision Blizzard made it clear earlier this week that Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo IV won’t be coming to Xbox Game Pass this year, though.
Microsoft will now add more than nine game studios from the Blizzard side alone to its Xbox Game Studios, alongside games studios in more than 11 locations for the mobile gaming King side of the acquisition. Microsoft has also transformed into a publishing powerhouse after the acquisition, with more than 8,500 Activision employees now joining Microsoft.
