Phil Spencer responds to fears all Activision Blizzard games will be Xbox-exclusive
CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer has addressed the concerns surrounding Activision Blizzard titles potentially becoming Xbox-exclusive. However, Spencer’s response is fairly ambiguous.
The world of gaming was shocked this morning following the news that Microsoft had acquired Activision Blizzard for $69B. This is the most expensive and groundbreaking acquisition in gaming to date, far outweighing Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga.
This continues Microsoft’s acquisition of some of the largest games studios. In 2021, Microsoft acquired Bethesda Softworks. Later, Phil Spencer hinted that future Bethesda titles such as Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6 will be Xbox exclusives.
Following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, players are concerned that their favorite franchises might receive the same treatment. Spencer addresses these fears in a chat with Bloomberg, but it’s likely not the response players were hoping for.
Phil Spencer on Activision Blizzard exclusivity
MicrosoftBloomberg claims that Microsoft will keep making some Activision games for PlayStation consoles while other content will be developed exclusively for Xbox. In discussion with Bloomberg, Spencer also touched on the potential exclusivity of the Activision acquisition.
“I’ll just say to players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that,” stated Spencer.
In classic Spencer fashion, his response is littered with ambiguity. Spencer also stated that it wasn’t Xbox’s intention to draw players away from their platforms when acquiring Bethesda. However, he later revealed that Bethesda’s most anticipated titles would likely be exclusive to Xbox.
Activision Blizzard’s most anticipated titles are Overwatch 2 and the next entry in the Call of Duty franchise. These are games that have a history of being available across numerous platforms, but that’s now subject to change.
There is a myriad of concerns that have spawned from the news of Microsoft’s recent acquisition. Will CoD still be on PlayStation? What does World of Warcraft look like in the hands of Microsoft? And how long is Bobby Kotick going to stick around?