With Microsoft’s recent big merger (the purchase of Activision Blizzard) it means that Microsoft will become the future owner of games like; Call of Duty, Overwatch, and that famous PC favorite, Warcraft. The man making the decisions is Xbox boss Phil Spencer, and this amalgamation of forces feels very similar to the power play displayed by Disney when they felt the need to absorb Marvel, Star Wars, and many other projects. There will always be a worry about the outcome of some of the fan-favorite game titles, which is why this purchase of Activision Blizzard is worrying some gamers out there.
What the acquisition of Activision Blizzard could mean
The purchase is of slight concern to some PC gamers because now Microsoft controls a hell of a lot of PC gaming’s most famous titles, and has a major say in the development of those games – and we know how protective PC gamers are of their platform. However, this doesn’t automatically mean bad news – Activision Blizzard hasn’t exactly been on the greatest of journeys in recent times. Phil Spencer recently spoke to the Washington Post about wanting to “revive old Activision games to their former glory”, in the wake of the takeover. Spencer even gave some love for PlayStation in a recent Twitter post, by saying they want to “honor their relationship with PlayStation” after rumors about Xbox wanting to engulf the Call of Duty series for itself.
Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022
It does seem unlikely that Spencer would want to ruin the sanctity of fan-favorite game titles like; Call of Duty and Overwatch, but there will always be a possibility that the big men at the top might think that overrepresentation and monetizing schemes will be a good idea at some point for their PC and PlayStation games. So, if the spirit of PC gaming remains solid (which we all know it will), and the PlayStation community joins them in togetherness, then nothing should alarm those loyal fans about some outsiders taking over.
