The Most Epic Fantasy and Sci-Fi Website

Why Activision-Blizzard Games Will Be Microsoft/Xbox Exclusives


Xbox controllers
Credit: Microsoft

If you're a gamer or are interested in the technology sector, you've probably heard that Microsoft is set to buy gaming giant Activision-Blizzard for nearly $70B in cash. This is the largest games company acquisition in human history, and it follows Microsoft's $7.5B acquisition of ZeniMax Media (the owner of Bethesda) lass than a year ago in March of 2021. With the huge slew of popular games under the Activision-Blizzard umbrella, many are wondering if they're going to become exclusives.

Unfortunately, exclusives are going to be an inevitability. In this article, we'll explain what's likely to happen once the deal actually goes through in 2023.

The Minecraft Comparison

Minecraft promo
click to enlarge
+ 3
Credit: Mojang

Many see the news Microsoft is buying Activision-Blizzard and think, "For such a big purchase, it'll definitely have to work like Minecraft where a Microsoft publishes games on all platforms." This idea can make a lot of sense on its face.

The problem is that Minecraft is literally the best-selling video game in human history and by a huge margin, too. Regardless of whether or not you think there's good reason to compare Microsoft's purchase of Mojang to Activision-Blizzard, it's not hard to understand that the situation is different when we're talking about the most successful video game ever made.

Related: Best Gaming YouTubers in 2022

But, that's not all. Minecraft was also already on a number of different platforms when Microsoft purchased Mojang, and this is true and important in not just Mojang's case but also the cases of Bethesda and Activision-Blizzard.

Phil Spencer's Comments

Phil Spencer
click to enlarge
+ 3
Credit: Microsoft

In the formal announcement of the Activision-Blizzard acquisition, Spencer noted that he recognized Activision-Blizzard games have active communities on many platforms and that Microsoft would continue to support these communities.

This echoes what Spencer said around the time of the Bethesda purchase. He would give interviews where he discussed how Microsoft didn't want to take games from players and how it wasn't out of the question that Microsoft publish games on other platforms.

Related: Best Minecraft YouTubers in 2022

However, the news did later break that, yes, Bethesda games going forward would be Microsoft exclusive, so you could expect Starfield or The Elder Scrolls 6 to come exclusively to Xbox and PC. But Phil didn't lie.

When Phil says that communities will be protected or that exclusivity on all things isn't guaranteed, this is in reference to products that are already out or are far enough along in development. For example, although future Elder Scrolls games will be PC/Xbox exclusives, Skyrim wasn't deleted from the PlayStation Store.

This is the case with Minecraft. By the time Microsoft bought them, Minecraft was already on other platforms. And since Minecraft is a game that receives updates and not actual full-fledged sequels, those platforms have had to be continuously updated. So, if Minecraft is going to have to be available on other platforms, it makes sense for Microsoft to allow it, the biggest game on the planet, on all platforms.

Related: Best Call of Duty YouTube Channels in 2022

How Exclusives Will Work Going Forward

Xbox controllers
click to enlarge
+ 3
Credit: Microsoft

You won't have to worry about all the games already out. If there's an Activision-Blizzard game on PlayStation or Switch, it's not going to suddenly get taken down or stop receiving updates. For a game like The Elder Scrolls Online, it will continue to receive even major expansions on par with other platforms.

This will necessarily extend to certain projects in development. For example, Microsoft-owned Bethesda published Deathloop as a timed PS5 console exclusive because of preexisting work done and agreements made. It's a move that sounds weird in the abstract, but it makes business sense.

So, for example, if Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has already been worked on for PS5 for years and Sony has a deal with Activision-Blizzard to bring exclusive Modern Warfare II content to PlayStation, chances are that won't change. Plus, we have to remember that the deal won't go through formally until 2023, so while changes are coming, they won't happen overnight.

Related: New Black Desert Online Winter Event, CP Rebalance, and More: January 12, 2022 Update

What is going to change is how future releases, a couple of years down the line extending through forever, actually work. Once the deal is finished and existing contractual obligations have been and projects built for other platforms are released, Microsoft is not going to bring new games to other platforms.

In a couple of years, every new Activision-Blizzard games will come exclusively to Xbox, PC, or mobile. This will hold true for all future projects, eventually. It won't make sense for Microsoft to spend years paying their employees to build new games for PlayStation.

Remember, Microsoft is a business, and they didn't go through with the largest game company acquisition in human history for any reason other than to make money, and Microsoft has had a long history of not bringing enough exclusives to the table. This is very clearly what they have been trying to address with each new acquisition.

Related: Activision Blizzard Employees Fired Following the Harassment Suit

For more articles like this, take a look at our Tech & Games and Gaming page.