Activision Blizzard expects to bring its games to Xbox Game Pass "next year"

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Activision Blizzard expects to bring its titles to Xbox Game Pass as early as 2024, according to a new statement from the company. 

This news follows Microsoft's prediction that it will close its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard within the next week (via VGC). Despite resistance from the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), it looks as though Microsoft is on the verge of completing the acquisition -  almost two years since it was initially announced.

Reacting to this development, Activision Blizzard released a statement on Monday addressing what this means in relation to bringing its titles to Microsoft's popular subscription service, Xbox Game Pass.

“As we continue to work toward regulatory approval of the Microsoft deal, we’ve been getting some questions [about] whether our upcoming and recently launched games will be available via Game Pass,” said Activision Blizzard.

“While we do not have plans to put Modern Warfare 3 or Diablo 4 into Game Pass this year, once the deal closes, we expect to start working with Xbox to bring our titles to more players around the world [... over] the course of next year." 

Though the FTC lost its court case against Microsoft, with the judge finding that the acquisition didn't breach US anti-monopoly laws, the tech giant still had to address concerns raised by the CMA in the UK. To satisfy the UK monopolies watchdog, Activision Blizzard committed to selling the streaming rights to its games to Ubisoft, so as to break up competition in the streaming market. This move satisfied the CMA, which went on to state that this plan "substantially addresses most concerns" that the UK organization had about the acquisition.   

With this in mind, while Activision Blizzard games may well be arriving on Game Pass next year, it seems highly unlikely that the titles will be available on the Xbox Cloud Gaming service. 

Looking for a distraction from the legal drama? Check out our lists of the best PC games, the best PS5 exclusives, and the best Xbox Series X games.

Cat Bussell
Cat Bussell
Freelance contributor

An editor and freelance journalist, Cat Bussell has been writing about video games for more than four years and, frankly, she’s developed a taste for it. As seen on TechRadar, Technopedia, The Gamer, Wargamer, and SUPERJUMP, Cat’s reviews, features, and guides are lovingly curated for your reading pleasure.

A Cambridge graduate, recovering bartender, and Cloud Strife enjoyer, Cat’s foremost mission is to bring you the best coverage she can, whether that’s through helpful guides, even-handed reviews, or thought-provoking features. She’s interviewed indie darlings, triple-A greats, and legendary voice actors, all to help you get closer to the action. When she’s not writing, Cat can be found sticking her neck into a fresh RPG or running yet another Dungeons & Dragons game.