Diablo 4 is set to be the first of several Activision Blizzard games offered on Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft confirmed today.
When Microsoft finally completed its groundbreaking $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023, fans questioned when their favorite games would inevitably get added to Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer initially doused those flames of excitement by confirming that no Activision games would be available on Game Pass until 2024.
But now that the calendar has turned, Xbox finally revealed when we can expect to see the first of several Activision games coming to Game Pass.
Diablo 4 officially coming to Xbox Game Pass
During an official Xbox podcast on Feb. 15, Xbox president Sarah Bond confirmed when the first Activision Blizzard title is coming to Game Pass. “With the coming together that we had with Activision Blizzard King, Activision and Blizzard games are coming to Game Pass starting with Diablo IV on March 28,” Bond said.
Diablo 4 launched in June 2023 and shattered expectations, surpassing $666 million in revenue in just five days. But if you were one of the few who missed out on the initial wave of excitement, the Game Pass release perfectly lines up a few weeks before season four, giving players time to catch up.
Bond’s use of the word “starting” hints that other Activision Blizzard games may be added to Game Pass in the future. As for CoD, head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty said “Game Pass will continue to be available only on Xbox platforms and will have all first-party games playable on day one.” After the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Call of Duty is now considered a first-party title, all but confirming that CoD 2024 may be available on day one on Game Pass when the game is launched, which is rumored to be in October 2024.
Previously, fans feared that CoD wouldn’t be available on Game Pass anytime soon as the previous Sony/CoD deal expires in 2024, meaning a new game in the series couldn’t launch on the service until 2025 at the earliest.
