Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King is finalized, and opinions are officially mixed. Some are looking forward to changes, while others are very much concerned about the future of the merging companies.
Some analysts claim the merger will boost the Xbox brand, which has lagged behind PlayStation for almost two console generations. GamePass users, in particular, are very happy with the merger going through, claiming they will now have access to even more content with their subscription, such as Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and, especially, Blizzard Entertainment games.
Others are not as excited. The most vocal complaint is that the merger will give Microsoft an unfair advantage over the competition (mainly Sony) since it will control bestsellers like Call of Duty.
Gamers are also concerned with the future of their beloved gaming companies, like Blizzard. While Activision has been doing relatively well with its CoD series, Blizzard and its games have been struggling to meet player demand. Multiple Blizzard titles have been review-bombed on Metacritic, and Overwatch 2’s Steam release in August 2023 was met with Overwhelmingly Negative reviews in a matter of days. The overall reviews for the game still remain in the Overwhelmingly Negative classification more than two months after that release.
Additionally, the workplace misconduct allegations within Blizzard and Activision as a whole certainly didn’t help with the perception of the company. Some gamers have every right to be concerned with the future of their favorite properties.
It will be interesting to see how the gaming industry will change now that Microsoft owns Activision.
