The Biggest Franchises Xbox Now Owns After Acquiring Activision Blizzard

Xbox has finally completed its historic acquisition of Activision Blizzard and with it gains control of some of the biggest franchises in video game history.

Not mincing words, Xbox now owns the best-selling video game each year in Call of Duty. This franchise was at the centre of conversations (and arguments) during the acquisition process, as Xbox fought desperately to see the deal through.

Unlike Bethesda games such as Starfield, Call of Duty won’t become exclusive to Xbox. Microsoft essentially had to sign 10-year deals with PlayStation, Nintendo, and several streaming services to complete the deal.

Activision Blizzard brings a lot more than Call of Duty, of course, with franchises such as Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush Saga, Diablo, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Spyro and more also joining Xbox.

Here’s a full list of Activision Blizzard games now owned by Xbox.

Activision

• Call of Duty
• Crash Bandicoot
• Guitar Hero
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
• Prototype
• Blur
• Spyro

Blzzard

• Diablo
• Warcraft
• Overwatch
• StarCraft
• Lost Vikings

King

• Candy Crush Saga
• Rebel Riders
• Diamond Diaries Saga
• Bubble Witch 3 Saga

There are a handful of other games not on the list, but since Activision’s history goes back to 1979 and Blizzard’s to 1991, it would be nearly impossible to list absolutely everything. Without a doubt, however, the games listed are the biggest franchises acquired in the deal.

The $68.7 billion acquisition going through on October 13, 2023 was celebrated by Microsoft with an emotional trailer showing off all these franchises, with glee unsurprising given how difficult, complicated, and long the process was.

The internet had plenty to say about the deal, with fans, developers, and analysts all weighing in on the biggest video game acquisition of all time. The Communications Workers of America union also expressed delight at the deal going through.

There are still plenty questions to be answered too, including around Game Pass, Xbox console sales, the fate of controversial Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, and more.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.