CoD, Overwatch, WoW aren’t “must-have” titles according to Microsoft

Microsoft shocked the gaming world when it announced the acquisition of prolific indie company Activision Blizzard.

A small deal of $68.7 billion was made to acquire a stacked lineup of famously low-budget titles.

The deal was made back in January of this year yet it won’t be completed until the summer of next year. With a little over a year to go, Microsoft has found itself having to defend this deal every step of the way.

Investigations aplenty, the status of morally unsound CEO Bobby Kotick; if you can think of it, Microsoft has probably dealt with it. This is all before we even talk about if Microsoft can turn around the franchises they’ve acquired.

Speaking of franchises, Microsoft had some choice words for said titles.

Activision has no “must have” titles

Microsoft is going through the process of getting the proposed deal approved. In a letter to the New Zealand Commerce Commission, the company claims that Activision Blizzard has no “must have” titles.

“specifically, with respect to Activision Blizzard video games, there is nothing unique about the video games developed and published by Activision Blizzard that is a “must have” for rival PC and console video game distributors that could give rise to a foreclosure concern;”

This comes at the heels of the industry questioning if this acquisition will see a huge shift towards Xbox. Acquiring all of the big franchises to eventually aid the growth of GamePass most likely is the play.

Of course, every gamer knows this is a form of reverse psychology.

Despite the off-year, Call of Duty is still a massive money maker. Diablo Immortal’s profits speak for themselves and Overwatch 2 is on the horizon.

The fear here is the possibility that said titles could become Xbox exclusives. However, in the above letter, Microsoft seemingly understands that exclusivity reduces income.

Time will tell if Microsoft conveys that same sense of understanding. For now, expect the titan to be on the defensive throughout the remainder of this process.