Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
With Microsoft finally expected to finally close its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard this week, attention is starting to turn toward what the aftermath of the deal will be. Ever since the deal was announced, audiences had assumed that Activision Blizzard’s biggest franchises (Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, etc.) would come to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service as soon as possible. However, don’t expect the upcoming Modern Warfare 3 to debut on Game Pass, even if the deal is closed by then. Activision Blizzard has clarified that it won’t bring MW3 or Diablo 4 to the subscription service this year, holding off until 2024.
Activision Blizzard tweeted a statement over the weekend after speculation began to swirl in the wake of the news that the Microsoft acquisition would be finalized in the coming days.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have yet to share their official game plan and timeline for putting games on Xbox Game Pass, but we can expect to see the process start next year. With that, it's likely that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be the last game in the series that launches before the Microsoft era officially begins. Stick with Shacknews for more updates on Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal.