Microsoft to Acquire Game Studio Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion

Microsoft today announced that it will purchase the game studio Activision Blizzard, the maker of hit games such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, and more, for almost $70 billion. Microsoft says this purchase will help it "bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone, across every device."

microsoft purchases Activision
The seismic purchase for Microsoft will see several of Activision's games move to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft's gaming subscription service.

The acquisition also bolsters Microsoft's Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 25 million subscribers. With Activision Blizzard's nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and three billion-dollar franchises, this acquisition will make Game Pass one of the most compelling and diverse lineups of gaming content in the industry. Upon close, Microsoft will have 30 internal game development studios, along with additional publishing and esports production capabilities.

Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass is available on the iPhone and iPad through Safari, but not the App Store. While Apple does allow all-in-one gaming subscription services to be on the platform, every game offered on the service must be submitted individually for approval through the ‌App Store‌ review process.

Apple's equivalent games subscription service to Xbox Game Pass is Apple Arcade. Launched in 2019, ‌Apple Arcade‌ has continued to add new games to its catalog for users to play across the ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, Mac, and Apple TV. The purchase of Activision and the addition of more hit games to Xbox Game Pass may put more pressure on Apple to bolster ‌‌Apple Arcade‌‌'s offerings.

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
iPhone 12 Made in India

Trump Tells Tim Cook to Stop Building iPhones in India

Thursday May 15, 2025 2:21 am PDT by
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India." "They [India] have offered us a deal where...
apple music

Apple Music Gets New Transfer Tool to Make Switching From Spotify Easier

Wednesday May 14, 2025 5:17 pm PDT by
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music. The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
maxresdefault

Here's the First Real-World Look at Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:52 am PDT by
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software. British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...

Top Rated Comments

4743913 Avatar
43 months ago
Apple keeps missing the boat. There will be no game dev houses left to buy and M1 Max Macbook Pro gamers will be playing nothing but phone games forever. Can anyone seriously compare Apple Arcade to Game Pass and not laugh their ass off?
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Scrip Avatar
43 months ago
$70 billion!

Remember when $1 billion for Instagram was considered ridiculous?

?
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Madhatter32 Avatar
43 months ago
Big win for Microsoft. Shows they are dedicated to gaming and are solidifying its tight grip on the market. It also represents a set back to Apple's pretensions in gaming -- if there were any to begin with.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maflynn Avatar
43 months ago
Wow, talk about jaw dropping.
They spent a boat load on Bethesda, though I'm not sure this could pass antitrust muster
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
43 months ago

Microsoft keeps acquiring studios. They really know gamings and streamers are next generation of big things.
What is Apple doing? Apple TV? not doing anything at all in gaming? start acquiring AAA studios and come up with a console.
Microsoft knows the gaming industry. They are dominating it. Look at the world-class games that are included in this deal. Apple really needs to catch up and get serious.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
recklesslife85 Avatar
43 months ago
Huge news but nothing to do with apple. Xbox players win here as all games will go to game pass.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)