An Update on Xbox Game Pass: Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick explains the deal and its impact on the European Commission

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick emailed all employees today announcing the news. “We now have all regulatory approvals necessary to close and we look forward to bringing joy and connection to even more players around the world,” said Kotick. “We’re excited for our next chapter together with Microsoft and the endless possibilities it creates for you and for our players.”

The Xbox maker originally announced the deal in January 2022, and has faced close scrutiny from regulators ever since — including an FTC v. Microsoft case that revealed plenty of Xbox secrets. The Federal Trade Commission is appealing their failure to get a preliminary injunction against Microsoft, with a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals due in December.

Microsoft’s obligations to the European Commission will allow consumers in EU countries to stream via “any cloud game streaming services of their choice” all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games that they have a license for.

“We love gaming. We play games, create games, and know first-hand how much gaming means to all of us as individuals and collectively, as a community. Phil Spencer says that they will officially welcome the teams to Xbox today. We will learn, innovate and continue to deliver on our promise of bringing joy and community to more people by being one team. In a culture where everyone can do their best work, where people are welcome, and that is centered on our ongoing commitment of gaming for everyone, we will be able to do this.

The $29 billion acquisition is larger than Microsoft paid to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 and the $7.5 billion it paid to acquire Bethesda in the year 2021. This is Microsoft’s biggest-ever push into gaming, too, and the company said at the original announcement of this megadeal that it will now be the “third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.”

Activision Blizzard made it clear earlier this week that Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo IV won’t be coming to Xbox Game Pass this year, though. Since announcing 25 million subscribers in January 2022, Microsoft has not provided an update on the number of Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will remain in place to help with the transition until the end of 2023. In an email to employees, Kotick said that he was committed to helping with the transition. I have agreed with Phil that I will stay on as CEO of ABK through the end of 2023. We are both looking forward to being able to work together on a smooth integration.

Rejoinder: Thank You for Helping us Make this Happen – I’ll be Seeing You at Future All-Hands Games

Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen I would like to express my gratitude. We were not able to accomplish this without your hard work.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be visiting the Activision, Blizzard, and King offices, along with members of our Gaming Leadership Team. We will have the opportunity to welcome our new colleagues at our next virtual all-hands for Xbox employees and more in the November 8 session of the Company Strategy Series.