Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has officially come to an end. With such news, Xbox Series X and S players expected major series like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Diablo IV to be available on the Game Pass. However, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer came up with some rather undelightful news in a recent interview with the Xbox podcast. He stated that none of those mentioned above titles or anything from the publisher’s catalog will arrive in 2023.
Activision Blizzard recently tweeted that they did “not have plans” to bring any titles to the gaming subscription service before the end of the year. Some Xbox fans are still optimistic they might drop a game or two before 2024 rolls out.
When can players expect Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 to hit the Xbox Game Pass?
Activision Blizzard claimed that Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 will not be available on the Xbox Game Pass for this year at least.
This statement is a good indicator of the acquisition being completed, and the fact that they write, “start working with Xbox to bring our titles to more players around the world” shows they’re planning to add games to the Game Pass over the course of the following year.
It’s awesome to see anticipation building for Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III. As we continue to work toward regulatory approval of the Microsoft deal, we’ve been getting some questions whether our upcoming and recently launched games will be available via Game Pass.
While we…
— Activision Blizzard (@ATVI_AB) October 9, 2023
What does Xbox head Phil Spencer have to say about this ordeal?
“The regulatory process took so long and frankly there was a lot of uncertainty in that process up until, really, a week before we closed, or really the week of, when the CMA finally came down to their decision, that we weren’t able to get in and work with mostly Activision Blizzard in this case on that back catalog work,” Spencer told the Official Xbox Podcast on October 17, 2023. He further continued, “I would love it if there was some kind of secret celebration drop that’s coming in the next couple of weeks—there’s not.”
When Microsoft concluded their deal at $7.5 billion to buy ZeniMax and its Bethesda Game Studios games, their major titles like Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim were available on the Game Pass, and players didn’t have to wait this much. Spencer expresses his disappointment that gamers would have to be patient for a few more months in the case of Activision Blizzard.
