Microsoft’s Activision acquisition: What franchises does it own now?

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard doesn’t give the maker of Xbox and the home of Halo control of everything significant in console gaming. Sony remains a leader with its PlayStation Exclusives and strong platform portfolio, but Electronic Arts (Take-Two) and Ubisoft keep vying for top position on all platforms.

But it’s damn close to everything. Redmond took $2.5 BILLION from his piggy bank in 2014 to purchase Mojang. Minecraft, the company has been on an escalating buying spree that has brought a who’s-who directory of AAA gaming to its Xbox Game Pass library, now 25 million subscribers strong.

Pilloried at the beginning of the Xbox One console generation in 2013 for a supposedly wavering interest in video games, Microsoft soon vowed — under then-new head of Xbox Phil Spencer — that it would adopt a renewed, diamond-hard focus on the games, the good games, and nothing but the games. So help him, God, he’s made good on that. These are the names and franchises of all major game developers that Microsoft currently controls.

Halo

Microsoft owned the sci-fi series and it is an Xbox exclusive franchise. But if only for posterity’s sake, it’s worth pointing out the company owns and controls this blockbuster intellectual property, just as strong and relevant with the launch of Halo Infinite As it was in Halo: The Evolution of Combat 20 years ago, when it debuted. After Bungie, the creator of series series, was acquired by Microsoft in 2000. 343 Industries was created to manage Halo.

Gears of War

Likewise an Xbox/Windows PC exclusive, Cliff Bleszinski’s Gears of War franchise was owned by Epic Games until Microsoft bought the property in early 2014. The company sold the series to Black Tusk Studios. The studio was later renamed The Coalition and Rod Fergusson was hired to manage a remaster. Gears of War, plus Gears of War 4, Gears 5. Gears is a major-name IP anchor of Xbox Game Pass, just like Halo. The service was launched in 2017 and has continued to grow. Fergusson resigned from The Coalition of Blizzard Entertainment (TCB) in 2020 to be part of the new company. Diablo 4 To term. With Tuesday’s news, Fergusson is officially a Microsoft employee again.

Minecraft

Image: Mojang/Xbox Game Studios

Xbox’s first big acquisition of a games franchise that was not exclusive to its platforms was for Minecraft Mojang in Sweden, which was acquired seven months ago as part of the Gears of War acquisition. Although Microsoft spent $2.5 billion — its 10th largest acquisition since 2007 — for what began as an indie sandbox-and-survival game on PC, the company picked up Mojang with cash it literally had sitting in the bank, doing nothing. From 2014 MinecraftThis has undergone 19 major updates and is still the centerpiece of the Xbox Game Pass library for PC and console.

Hellblade, Condition of Decay, Wasteland, Double Fine, and Obsidian’s adventures

Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios

Microsoft, maker of Ninja Theory announced at E3 2018, that it had purchased Ninja Theory. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (and DmC: Devil May Cry for Capcom before that), and Undead Labs, makers of the State of Decay zombie-survival series, plus two other studios (Compulsion Games, known for 2018’s Very few people are happier than we.Playground Games has been developing the Forza Horizon series of games since its inception in 2012.

Five months later, during its X018 showcase, Microsoft announced it had added Obsidian Entertainment — the makers of Baldur’s Gate, FalloutNew VegasPlease see the following: Pillars for Eternity and its sequel — as well as InXile Entertainment, the studio behind the Wasteland RPG series and the most recent adaptations of The Bard’s Tale.

The sequels have continued to come since then. State of Decay 3 Wasteland 3 The Outer Worlds 2, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 These exclusives were announced on Xbox One and PC.

Microsoft followed this buying spree a year later by announcing, at E3 2019, that it had picked up Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Productions, known for a fan-favorite catalog that includes Brutal Legend, Costume QuestPlease see the following: Broken Age. Microsoft bought Double Fine. Psychonauts 2.A sequel to the hit 2005 film, entitled “… Psychonauts It began as crowdfunded., Xbox Game Studios published the book.

All of these franchises and titles, like Halo and Gears of War and Minecraft, are available in the Xbox Game Pass library.

Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein, Doom

Image: MachineGames/Bethesda Softworks

Until Tuesday, it was hard to imagine a bigger takeover than 2020’s deal bringing ZeniMax Media’s parade of AAA franchises and developers to the home of Xbox. Microsoft’s $8.1 billion acquisition of privately held ZeniMax — barely one-eighth of Tuesday’s deal for Activision — landed Redmond a back catalog comprising Dishonored, Prey and The Evil Within; heavyweight franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, and Wolfenstein; a landmark gaming brand in Quake; and Todd Howard’s next zillion-hour RPG, StarfieldThe launch of ‘, is planned for November.

Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda Softworks’ parent company did not disrupt plans to deliver two PlayStation console exclusives, Deathloop(September 2021). GhostWire Tokyo (Delayed to 222). These deals were done before the acquisition. However, Xbox boss Phil Spencer stated that the company would determine on an individual basis whether any new ZeniMax games would be launched on third-party platforms such as PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch. Howard made the announcement at E3 2021. Starfield It would be an Xbox/PC only exclusive and launch day-and-date via Xbox Game Pass in order to draw even greater attention to the service. It’s likely that The Elder Scrolls 6An announcement was made alongside Starfield 2018 will be the same.

Here’s the deal: Duty call, Diablo, Overwatch, Warcraft, plus much more

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Tuesday’s $68.7 billion deal would bring Microsoft’s number of internal game development studios to 30. They would also bring billion-dollar foundations such as the iconic MMO and the Call of Duty series, which are both part of the $68.7 billion deal. World of Warcraft. Blizzard Entertainment’s DiabloAnd Overwatch franchises, both due for new releases in 2023, could be the first games published by Microsoft once the deal closes. That’s to say nothing of King, the mobile game maker behind massively popular franchises such as Candy Crush.

And that’s not all. Activision’s back catalog includes the remasters Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, and Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, they have been followed by franchises. It was one of the few companies that licensed video games other than sports, and made remakes of GoldenEye 007, Transformers, Spider-Man, and the Cabela’s outdoors series. Skylanders (and Guitar Hero), which was shut down by the company recently, can still be found if they ever decide to make a comeback in the music-to-life and toys gaming categories, respectively. Hell, Pitfall! — the first blockbuster video game IP developed specifically for consoles — is an Activision product.

Microsoft may have acquired Call of Duty as a bestseller year after year, but Activision is now the owner of an entire video gaming history dating back to before console gaming began.