Activision BlizzardCEO Bobby Kotick says that the company’s acquisition byMicrosoftis a “longer journey than expected”, as they continue to face difficulties in the UK. He adds that management is “hard at work” to close the deal, suggesting that he believes it will be over soon.
However, his comments also imply that Kotick didn’t expect to face this much opposition to the deal, despite it being the largest in video game history. While it has been approved in many major regions aside from the UK, that hasn’t been without hassle, withXboxhaving to make continuous compromises, as well as argue that it would give it an unfair monopoly on the gaming industry.
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“This has been a longer journey than expected, and I am very proud of how focused everyone has remained on delivering great games,” says Kotick, speaking to workers in astatementon getting the deal approved in the UK. “Thanks for your continued dedication and commitment to our players.”
This statement came after it was announced that Activision Blizzard would be entering a cloud streaming deal withUbisoft. In practical terms, this means that Xbox wouldn’t have cloud gaming rights over Activision Blizzard games, and they would instead be available through Ubisoft-run services.
Announcing the deal, Ubisoftcommented: “The agreement includes the complete slate of current Activision Blizzard games, as well as all their new titles launching in the 15 years after the closing of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.” This means that should the deal go through, you can expect to see games such as newCall of Dutyinstalments on Ubisoft Plus.
While this is a blow for Xbox, Ubisoft isn’t a surprising partner to go with.Ubisoft Plus was recently added to Xbox, so if Activision Blizzard titles are added to this online gaming service, then they will still be playable on Microsoft’s platform. It’s admittedlyalso available on PlayStation, butMicrosoft has already entered a deal to share Call of Duty with Sony, so it’s not the worst compromise in the world. In any case, the deadline for British regulators to come to an agreement on this deal is October 18.
Decisions over Call of Duty’s future haven’t been the only talking points during this lengthy acquisition. Bobby Kotick himself was a highly controversial figure before the deal was announced, and that hasn’t gone away now that he might be handing the keys over to Microsoft. Havingoverseen the worst allegationsofsexism and sexual harassmentin the gaming industry,Activision Blizzard workers have called for his resignationto no avail. It remains to be seen if he does leave if the acquisition is complete.
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