Microsoft shocked the gaming world earlier this week by announcing its plan to acquire Activision for the staggering sum of $70 billion. This follows in the footsteps of other companies like Bethesda, Ninja Theory, Obsidian Entertainment, and more who now reside under the Xbox umbrella. But compared to Activision, all of those other names feel miniscule - certainly, their prices were. By a substantial margin, this is the biggest deal in our medium’s history and will be talked about for months and years to come, all the way until its finalisation in 2023.

However, the average gamer isn’t interested in the complicated business side of things, which is often ruled over by stuffy lawyers and boring spreadsheets filled with maths that I don’t care to understand much either. To them and many others it is all about the games, and what this acquisition means for the average joe playing across myriad platforms. That being said, it would be foolish to cast aside Activision’s tumultuous corporate culture and act like this acquisition suddenly fixes everything. It doesn’t, and work has only just begun.

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Despite gaming as a whole becoming more approachable thanks to streaming on mobile, a wide range of consoles, and other such devices - organisations continue to compete for properties that will make their service ecosystem the ultimate place to reside. Xbox has only ever had the likes of Forza, Halo, and Fable with a handful of beloved exceptions, an approach to exclusive blockbusters that has seen it fall behind PlayStation time and time again. This tide is now turning, whether it benefits us in the end as consumers or not.

COD Vanguard

This generation, instead of fostering talent internally and building new studios, Microsoft has opted for a spending spree to secure its creative future. I suppose if you aren't making excellent games, simply buy those who are and make their titles exclusive to your platform. Starfield, Redfall, Avowed, and so many others will likely never come to PlayStation, and given the billions spent to secure such an exclusive privilege, we really shouldn't be surprised by such an ultimatum. If Sony bought Capcom and made Resident Evil and Monster Hunter PS5 exclusives, none of us would bat an eyelid.

Microsoft now has so much to offer, games you can't play anywhere else that could result in a console sale, Xbox Game Pass subscription, or a newcomer stepping into its ecosystem for the very first time. That's a victory, and one that will become increasingly common in the months and years to come. Sony has since released a statement saying that it hopes Microsoft will honour existing agreements within Activision to keep games multiplatform, but I imagine this will be done on a case-by-case basis with only a handful of outliers.

Redfall

Warzone, having established itself as a premiere live service experience alongside the mainline Call of Duty franchise, will likely remain multi-platform given its continued success on all fronts, and the same can be said for the series itself if annual entries remain a thing. Microsoft could decide to reallocate resources or move it in a different direction, no longer accepting Activision as a mixture of studios dedicated to supporting Call of Duty and little else. Clear benefits will come to Xbox and PC players, while PlayStation will continue to be present purely because of existing agreements and a player base that doesn’t wish to be upheaved and forced to adopt a different platform. This sort of change needs to be done right.

Beyond Call of Duty, everything else could follow in the same exclusive footsteps and I would not be surprised in the slightest. Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Guitar Hero, and so many other iconic brands are now technically Xbox properties, and it would be wise to use those names to draw newcomers to its platforms and services even if it means making a few gamers angry in the process. I am utterly against the monopolisation of this industry, and Microsoft holding so many cards across an increasingly isolated industry has me fear for the future. But even I can see that making its games exclusive is the right thing to do if it hopes to get ahead, which it does, no matter how much you happen to love Phil Spencer on Twitter.

Overwatch 2

We also shouldn’t be making a stink or labelling exclusivity as a moral failure by Microsoft because it is simply operating within the capitalist ideals of every other triple-A company in the medium. It is out to make a profit, and right now is laying the foundations for a service-based future where having so many studios and so much IP under your belt will eventually make you the front-runner. Sony hasn’t even entertained this eventuality, relying on its prestige blockbusters with a rumoured Game Pass rival on the horizon. Even if it also has plans to acquire a big player in the space, it has already lost to Microsoft.

As for Blizzard, most of their titles are PC-centric anyway, so it will be a matter of maintaining that cadence before eventually shutting BattleNet and folding its offerings into the Xbox client. Overwatch 2, Diablo 4, and other upcoming titles will kill it on Game Pass, so for many it might end up being business as usual while the studio is given the freedom to pursue far more ambitious projects beyond expectant sequels and World of Warcraft expansions.

Starfield Official Concept Art By Bethesda

While the arrival of more concrete exclusives might end up bumming you out, I feel Xbox will provide Activision Blizzard with greater freedom and increased resources to bring back dormant experiences with remasters, sequels, and reboots that while exclusive, could essentially rebrand the company into a semblance of what it used to be. For years, it has become a cynical Call of Duty machine, and that exclusivity is likely one that few are bothered about. I’m looking at the bigger picture, both creatively and economically.

But before all of that, stop being grumpy about exclusives and focus on what matters - making Activision Blizzard a better place for its workers under Microsoft. Get Kotick gone, and then we can talk more seriously about the games.

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