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."
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 iPadthrough 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.
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?
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.
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.
Wednesday June 30, 2021 1:16 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Microsoft earlier this week made its Xbox Cloud Gaming service available on iOS devices, which means iPhone and iPad users can play Xbox games using the Safari browser.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We decided to test out Xbox Cloud Gaming to see how it works at launch, and whether it's worth the $14.99 subscription price for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate...
Monday December 6, 2021 12:46 pm PST by Juli Clover
The United States Justice Department is investigating Apple for antitrust issues, and Roblox is an area of interest for prosecutors attempting to put together a case, reports The Information.
Investigators are looking for situations where Apple is unevenly enforcing rules for app developers, and Roblox is an area of interest because of the way the app works. Roblox is an online gaming...
Friday November 12, 2021 7:55 am PST by Joe Rossignol
It has been just over two years since the launch of Apple Arcade, and the subscription-based gaming service's catalog continues to grow. Two new games were released on Apple Arcade today, with an additional two coming soon.
The latest additions to Apple Arcade include the classic arcade shooting game Galaga Wars from Bandai Namco and the popular tower defense game Kingdom Rush Frontiers from ...
Tuesday November 2, 2021 10:58 am PDT by Juli Clover
Netflix today announced the full official rollout of its Netflix Games feature, which will allow Netflix users to play a handful of games on their mobile devices.
At the current time, Netflix is making games available for Android users, but support for iOS is "on the way." Netflix says that it's early days, but its goal is to build a library of games offering "something for everyone."...
Apple has discussed launching a cloud-based gaming service to rival the likes of Xbox Cloud Gaming and Google Stadia, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple has considered launching a cloud-based game streaming service like its competitors (emphasis our own):Apple's gaming service is somewhat unique, relying on games that run on ...
Apple Arcade recently surpassed over 200 games available on the subscription-based gaming service, and Apple today previewed two additional titles coming soon. Apple did not provide a specific release date for either game.
Zookeeper World "Zookeeper World" from Kiterestu is a new installment in the "Zookeeper" action puzzle game series that will be available exclusively on Apple Arcade....
Endless snowboarding game "Alto's Adventure" is set to expand to Apple Arcade this month, with Apple launching "Alto's Adventure: The Spirit of the Mountain." The Apple Arcade exclusive title is a remastered version of the original "Alto's Adventure," but with an all-new exclusive character that features unique attributes and special abilities, plus more than 15 new goals to complete.
The...
Thursday December 9, 2021 2:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
When Microsoft was in discussions with Apple about bringing its xCloud platform to the iPhone, Microsoft attempted to sweet talk Apple into allowing the cloud gaming service.
According to emails between Microsoft and Apple executives that were unearthed by The Verge, Microsoft was willing to agree to many of Apple's demands about how the system would work, even agreeing to bring Xbox titles...
With around four months to go before Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 14 lineup, the overwhelming majority of rumors related to the new devices so far have focused on the iPhone 14 Pro, rather than the standard iPhone 14 – leading to questions about how different the iPhone 14 will actually be from its predecessor, the iPhone 13.
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are expected...
The iPhone 14 will feature a more expensive "high-end" front-facing camera with autofocus, partly made in South Korea for the first time, ET News reports.
Apple reportedly ousted a Chinese candidate to choose LG Innotek, a South Korean company, to supply the iPhone 14's front-facing camera alongside Japan's Sharp. The company is said to have originally planned to switch to LG for the iPhone...
Last year's iPhone 13 Pro models were the first of Apple's smartphones to come with 120Hz ProMotion displays, and while the two iPhone 14 Pro models will continue to feature the technology, their screens could well boast expanded refresh rate variability this time round.
To bring ProMotion displays to the iPhone 13 Pro models, Apple adopted LTPO panel technology with variable refresh...
Apple has silently increased the price of its Apple Music subscription for college students in several countries, with the company emailing students informing them their subscription would be slightly increasing in price moving forward. The price change is not widespread and, based on MacRumors' findings, will impact Apple Music student subscribers in but not limited to Australia, the...
Apple is one of several companies that have held talks with Electronic Arts (EA) about a potential purchase, according to a new report from Puck.
EA has spoken to several "potential suitors," including Apple, Amazon, and Disney as it looks for a merger arrangement. Apple and the other companies declined to comment, and the status of the talks is not known at this time, but Apple does have an ...
Sony this week came out with an updated version of its popular over-ear noise canceling headphones, so we picked up a pair to compare them to the AirPods Max to see which headphones are better and whether it's worth buying the $400 WH-1000XM5 from Sony over Apple's $549 AirPods Max.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. First of all, the AirPods Max win out when it comes ...
Apple on May 16 released iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, bringing improvements for Podcasts and Apple Cash, the ability to see Wi-Fi signal of HomePods, dozens of security fixes, and more.
Top Rated Comments
Remember when $1 billion for Instagram was considered ridiculous?
?
They spent a boat load on Bethesda, though I'm not sure this could pass antitrust muster