Microsoft is waiting for regulatory bodies to approve its $70 billion dollar acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the meantime, Phil Spencer took the time to share his thoughts about several topics in an interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang.
The interview is set to air on Bloomberg Studio 1.0 at 9:00 P.M. ET tonight. According to the preview, the Xbox head revealed that the Activision Blizzard buyout is headed in a “positive direction.” The company is currently waiting for regulatory bodies to approve the purchase.
Once this pushes through, Call of and World of Warcraft, among others, will become a part of the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. In addition to the promising development of the deal, Spencer shared his belief that we’ll see “less and less” exclusives for consoles.
Microsoft has given Xbox the green light to tap into its limitless coffer in recent years. The Activision Blizzard acquisition comes just a year after Microsoft secured ZeniMax Media. This is the company that owns Bethesda Softworks and Bethesda Game Studios, as well as several other developers such as id Software and Arkane Studios. Going forward, Xbox has free reigns to make iconic IPs such as the Fallout series and The Elder Scrolls exclusive to the Xbox platform.
Ironically, Spencer’s statement about gamers not being able to play together only because they “bought the wrong piece of plastic to plug into [the] television” contradicts how it has made the likes of The Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield exclusive to the Xbox.
Granted, the aforementioned titles are built for a single-player experience. Still, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before Xbox reneges on Spencer’s earlier promise to keep Call of Duty as a multi-platform title.
Speaking of Call of Duty, confidential documents have revealed when Call of Duty: Warzone 2 could come out. Shortly after, the ESRB leaked that the long-rumored DMZ mode will be released along with Warzone 2. Finally, Activision revealed that pre-ordering Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will grant players early access to the single-player campaign.
