- Xbox acquired Activision Blizzard last year.
- The gaming giant will continue to offer Activision games like Call of Duty on other platforms.
- This opportunity has Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella excited for Xbox’s role as a publisher.
The long-awaited Activision Blizzard transaction with Microsoft was eventually completed in October 2023 when the two businesses successfully merged last year.
Reflecting on this merger, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been quick to point out that while the partnership makes the Xbox platform far more enticing for gamers, it also benefits competing platforms, like PlayStation and Nintendo.
Why it matters: A major promise from Microsoft before the merger was to keep Call of Duty on all platforms, positioning the gaming giant as a third-party publisher.
After securing the deal, Nadella made a passing reference to the company’s gaming strategy in an interview with Bloomberg this week.
The CEO of Microsoft addressed Xbox’s position in the gaming industry, admitting that the company had been stuck behind the leaders for far too long. Not too long ago, Phil Spencer also admitted that Xbox was too far behind in the console war.
However, with Activision Blizzard at its side, Microsoft’s gaming division has the opportunity for a fresh start. Satya Nadella intends to seize this opportunity and said:
“With Activision Blizzard, I think we have a chance of being a good publisher, on Sony, Nintendo, PCs, and Xbox.”
This response drives home Phil Spencer’s earlier point of bringing games to more people. Xbox is doubling down on its efforts to publish games, expanding its gaming projects beyond the limited ecosystem from Microsoft.
If everything goes according to plan, Xbox could eventually see itself pulling ahead of rivals despite falling behind in terms of hardware sales.
Meanwhile, recent rumors have pointed to first-party titles like Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves arriving on other platforms.
While these are just rumors for the time being, Satya Nadella’s newfound interest as a third-party publisher could motivate Xbox to experiment with more multiplatform releases from first-party studios.
The Call of Duty franchise will be at the forefront of Xbox’s publishing focus moving forward. Microsoft has agreed to keep the series on Sony and Nintendo hardware, allowing it to reap the benefits of customers across all gaming consoles.
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