Everything You Need To Know About Microsoft And Call Of Duty New Saga
One of the largest video game acquisitions in history will take place when Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard. The deal was announced in January 2022 and is anticipated to close in 2023. What will happen to Call of Duty, Activision’s flagship series, is one of the most important issues that players have.
What has Microsoft said about Call of Duty?
Microsoft paid Bethesda, the company behind the popular video games Fallout 4 and Skyrim, $7.5 billion (£6.1 billion) in 2020. Since then, it has been announced that several of that company’s upcoming games would be Xbox exclusives, which has some people worried it will happen to Activision as well.
Microsoft claims that discontinuing sales of immensely popular game series to millions of potential customers overnight would be foolish. Call of Duty titles will be available on Sony and Nintendo systems if the deal is approved, according to agreements the company has made with both companies.
Call of Duty will continue to be available on all platforms, including PlayStation, according to Microsoft. But the business has also stated that it intends to increase Call of Duty’s exclusivity to its own platforms, including Xbox and PC.
This could mean that Call of Duty games are released on PlayStation consoles later than they are on Xbox and PC, or it could mean that only Xbox and PC have exclusive Call of Duty game features.
Microsoft has apparently confirmed that Call of Duty will be accessible on other platforms, such as mobile and cloud gaming. No matter what platform they use, more people would be able to play Call of Duty as a result of this.
What do gamers think about Microsoft’s plans for Call of Duty?
On Microsoft’s plans for Call of Duty, gamers have differing opinions. While some gamers are relieved that Microsoft is dedicated to keeping Call of Duty available across all platforms, others worry that Call of Duty may become more exclusive to Microsoft’s own platforms.
The potential introduction of Call of Duty on other platforms, like mobile and cloud gaming, has some gamers fired up as well.
Governments attempted to block the transaction out of concern that Microsoft would have too much influence.
In order to prevent the merger, the American government sued Microsoft. It was concerned that Microsoft would make some games more expensive, challenging, or even impossible to play on consoles made by other firms.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley wasn’t persuaded that the merger of the businesses will hurt customers. It has already received approval from several nations, including the EU and China, and British officials, who had previously blocked the agreement, now claim they are collaborating with Microsoft to find a solution.
What does the future hold for Call of Duty?
What Call of Duty’s future holds is still too uncertain to predict with certainty. However, it is obvious that Microsoft has ambitious aspirations for the brand.
Future Call of Duty releases are probably going to focus more on Microsoft’s own platforms. But it’s also likely that Call of Duty will be made available on other platforms, like mobile and cloud gaming.
Here are some specific things that Microsoft could do with Call of Duty:
- Make Call of Duty games more exclusive to Xbox and PC. This could mean releasing Call of Duty games on PlayStation consoles later than they are released on Xbox and PC, or giving Call of Duty games exclusive content on Xbox and PC.
- Bring Call of Duty to more platforms, such as mobile and cloud gaming. This would allow more people to play Call of Duty, regardless of what platform they own.
- Invest more in Call of Duty development. Microsoft has more resources than Activision Blizzard, so it could invest more in Call of Duty development to create better games.
- Use Call of Duty to promote its other products and services. For example, Microsoft could offer exclusive Call of Duty content to Xbox Game Pass subscribers, or it could bundle Call of Duty games with new Xbox consoles.
What does the new saga mean for Call of Duty fans?
Fans of the Call of Duty franchise may find the new Call of Duty saga under Microsoft’s control to be quite satisfying. Microsoft is in a position to improve Call of Duty beyond its current state because to its resources and experience.
The drawbacks of Microsoft’s ownership of Call of Duty, however, should be considered. Call of Duty may be used by Microsoft to suppress competition in the gaming industry because it is a sizable and powerful firm.
Additionally, by raising the price or releasing it on fewer platforms, Microsoft might make Call of Duty less affordable for fans.
In general, it is questionable how Call of Duty will fare under Microsoft’s control. The franchise, however, has the ability to improve even further than it already has. Call of Duty players should monitor the situation and wish for the best.
Microsoft wants to pay $69bn (£56bn) for Activision. Such a big deal has never been witnessed before. Not even by Microsoft, one of the wealthiest corporations in the world. The largest takeover of a company by another in gaming history will occur if it proceeds.
For its money, it will receive a lot, including control of Call of Duty. It’s a significant sum of money, but Microsoft would become the owner of a number of games, including Candy Crush, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty. These video games are among the most widely played in the entire world, with millions of users spending billions on subscriptions and in-game purchases.
Microsoft says it needs the deal to boost the Xbox. Microsoft’s Xbox console is currently outsold by Sony’s PlayStation in terms of sales. Microsoft claims that acquiring Activision will enable it to create more games for mobile devices, where there are significant profit margins, and to add more high-profile titles to Game Pass, its Netflix-style subscription service.
A huge development in the gaming industry, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will probably have a big effect on the future of Call of Duty. Although it is still too soon to say for sure what Microsoft will do with Call of Duty, it is obvious that the firm has enormous intentions for the series.
Call of Duty players should monitor the situation and wish for the best. Although it is possible that the business will make Call of Duty less accessible and less fun for fans, Microsoft has the capacity to make it even better than it is right now.