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Every Activision Blizzard Franchise Microsoft Will Own In Huge Acquisition Deal

Microsoft announced it is preparing to acquire Activision Blizzard. Though the deal won't finalize until 2023, it includes a number of big and dormant franchises.

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Microsoft shook the industry today with the announcement of its biggest acquisition yet, not just in gaming but across all industries. The $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard will bring together two of the biggest companies in gaming. Activision Blizzard has some of the most successful franchises in the industry, which will fall under the ever-growing umbrella of Microsoft once the deal finalizes.

Part of the size of the deal comes from Activision's own spate of acquisitions over the last decades. Though Activision is no slouch with big franchises, most notably its annualized Call of Duty releases and the ongoing battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone, it has also made big moves of its own that will now fold into the Microsoft umbrella.

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In 2008, Activision merged with Blizzard, bringing the wildly successful World of Warcraft franchise along with games like Starcraft. Blizzard has several other IPs under its belt as well, including more recent ones like Overwatch and the WoW spin-off Hearthstone. Following the success of Hearthstone on mobile devices, Blizzard has also started to stretch into the mobile market with games like the upcoming Diablo Immortal.

And speaking of mobile, Activision also acquired King in 2016. That acquisition has been among the most profitable for Activision, with huge mobile franchises like Candy Crush leading the way. This is significant because Microsoft has had an eye on the mobile market, most recently by emphasizing its cloud gaming through Game Pass.

According to Axios reporter Stephen Totilo, documents show several other older and defunct trademarks that will also become Microsoft property if the deal goes through. Those include IP like Hexen, Gabriel Knight, and Pitfall!, along with out-of-use game labels like Sierra.

There are lots of open questions regarding the deal, including which franchises will remain multiplatform, when the Activision library will hit Game Pass, and whether the deal gets through financial regulators. Check below for the full lineup of Activision Blizzard franchises that Microsoft will own when the deals go through.

  • Activision
    • Call of Duty
    • Crash Bandicoot
    • Guitar Hero
    • Spyro the Dragon / Skylanders
    • Tony Hawk
  • Blizzard
    • Diablo
    • Hearthstone
    • Lost Vikings
    • Overwatch
    • Starcraft
    • World of Warcraft
  • King
    • Bubble Witch Saga
    • Candy Crush
    • Diamond Diaries Saga
    • Farm Heroes Saga
    • Pet Rescue

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videogameninja

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At this point in time a better question is "What WON'T Microsoft own?", lol.

It's very hard to not believe Microsoft is trying their best not to do what Microsoft has done so well in the past... just stomp out competition by buying their way to victory.

I imagine the news today has to be a signal to Sony and Nintendo to watch out. Microsoft with this move has essentially said we are here in this space to stay and we no longer are satisfied with being a competitor.

I really don't know what else Sony and Nintendo can do other than stick in their lane and continue to put out good quality games. Perhaps they could do some studio acquisitions of their own but considering how huge Microsoft is I don't think their moves would be quite on the same level.

The good news is that I think we are going to see Sony and Nintendo up their game significantly in an attempt to keep gamers on their consoles. Remember, at the end of the day GAMES are what are going to bring people to your console.

Microsoft's strategy is to just buy up studios that have already done that without investing their time and resources in starting up new IPs/franchises in the hopes they take off. Sony has been the opposite for the most part. But with huge name games like COD and Fallout now arriving on Microsoft's platform exclusively (that's another issue.) will it even matter what others are bringing to the table?

Whatever happens I think we are going to be in for a rocky console war. Buckle up!

-CONSOLE WARS NINJA APPROVED-

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deactivated-67d9b4d176198

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@videogameninja: By buying companies like Bethesda and Activision, Microsoft isn't just inheriting active and dormant IPs, they are also taking onboard a slew of employees with a massive wealth of talent and experience in the gaming industry. With Microsoft money now behind these companies I wouldn't be surprised to see them being pushed to take risks in order to expand further and create new IPs since they are in a good position to absorb financial loss.

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Bamda

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@just_visiting: That is what I am hoping for. I see this as a good thing. Activision used to be a leader in the gaming space at releasing new gaming IPs. That change with COD, now they are just in the business of feeding the COD Zombies.

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Zaryia

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@videogameninja: Sony has been doing this for decades and all of a sudden you now care.

lol fanboys

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lord2fli

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@zaryia: I wonder if you see how ironic your post is

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PCPS4XB

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@zaryia: which big franchises have Sony locked other platforms out of?

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sty1e_bender

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@zaryia: you know. I can’t think of any publisher Sony has purchased in the past 20 years. I can think of two of the biggest in the world MS had in the past 2….

You conflate studio with publisher

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lilhurk1985187

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@zaryia: I also laugh at all the fools who are crying Monopoly when there isn't one.

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