The Redmond tech company promised its users that 2022 will be a year of great progress, changes, and unexpected surprises.

  • Game Pass subscribers have lots of reasons to be excited about the future.
  • Microsoft just purchased the Activision Blizzard company for $69 billion.
  • This means that lots of Activision titles will soon be coming to the service.
  • The deal isn’t quite going as planned and many parties are displeased.

And speaking of the unexpected, here’s one that the Activision Blizzard fans did not see coming. Microsoft is reportedly seriously going through with the purchase of the popular game studios.

This deal will value Activision at $68.7 billion, far in excess of the $26 billion Microsoft paid to acquire LinkedIn in 2016.

Without a doubt, this is Microsoft’s biggest push into the gaming world yet, and the company says it will be the third-largest gaming enterprise by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony once the deal closes.

The deal didn’t go as smoothly as Microsoft wanted it to go

The Redmond company’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been a really messy affair, as pretty much everyone expected it to be.

Even though the deal has been approved in some countries like Saudi Arabia and Brazil, it is facing hurdles in major markets like the EU and the U.S.

Also, it is being probed in the UK by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has said flat out that it doesn’t want the deal to go through.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, now an independent group of gamers has also sued Microsoft because of the acquisition.

This lawsuit we mentioned has been filed by 10 U.S. gamers, three of whom play exclusively on PlayStation consoles.

Please keep in mind that this is not a class-action lawsuit and that it names only Microsoft as the defendant in the case, not the Activision Blizzard company.

Furthermore, the 45-page document argues that if the acquisition is allowed to proceed, it would have a lot of negative effects on the industry as a whole.

Of course, this includes reduced competition, higher prices, less creativity, decreased output, and Activision games being locked to Microsoft’s own platforms.

Note that the plaintiffs have demanded that Microsoft and Activision’s acquisition contract should be declared null and void and that they should be permanently restricted from going in this direction ever again.

Another requirement is for Microsoft to pay for the cost of the lawsuit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, but the tech giant hasn’t yet responded

Lots of Activision titles coming to Xbox Game Pass soon

Of course, this means that Microsoft plans to add many of Activision’s games to Xbox Game Pass once the deal has been finalized.

And, with the acquisition of Activision, Microsoft will soon publish franchises like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush.

How’s that for a winner-winner situation?

Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, said that they are investing deeply in world-class content, community, and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive, and accessible to all.

Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog.

This interesting deal comes after only months of sexual harassment claims against Activision Blizzard. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard for promoting a culture of constant sexual harassment.

Regardless of rumors and past dealings, the tech giant stated that Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard for now.

Phill Spencer, formerly head of gaming at Microsoft, is now CEO of Microsoft Gaming, and the company says the Activision Blizzard business will report directly to Spencer.

Let us remember that Microsoft also acquired Bethesda (ZeniMax Media) for $7.5 billion, last year. Now, with Activision also in the pocket, imagine the joy of Game Pass subscribers.

Microsoft now expects the Activision Blizzard deal to close in the fiscal year 2023, which means we might not see this deal approved for up to 18 months.

What is the first Activision title you expect to see added to the Game Pass service? Share your preferences with us in the comments section below.

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