Microsoft has revealed more details on its plans for Activision Blizzard, once its planned acquisition of the gaming company has been completed. During a media briefing, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty spoke about exclusivity and how Microsoft wants to ensure that the communities for some of Activision Blizzard’s biggest multiplatform properties are looked after.
“Ultimately what our goal is, is to make gaming more accessible to players and more accessible to creators. If we acquire a game that comes with a big community across a number of platforms, the last thing we want to do is take something away,” Booty said. “If anything, we feel that it’s our job to be caretakers, to be shepherds, to continue to build and nurture that community, not to cut it up into pieces and try to take some of it away.”
One example pointed out by Microsoft of its attitude towards multiplatform games was Minecraft, which was released on other platforms after its developer Mojang was acquired.
Microsoft has already confirmed that the Call of Duty series will still be a multiplatform franchise for the foreseeable future, as back in January Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that the company would “honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation.”
GM for programming and events Tina Summerford did make clear that some games will become Xbox exclusives, presumably brand-new projects in development at Activision Blizzard. “We want to put as many titles as possible from Activision Blizzard into Game Pass when they join us,” Summerford said.
Ahead of the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase on June 12, Microsoft has made a big announcement regarding its cloud gaming efforts. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will soon be able to stream a “select” number of Xbox games they personally own to other devices, even if those titles aren’t in their Game Pass library. Microsoft is aiming to have the feature ready by the end of the year.
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