If you were hoping to storm through demonic hordes with Diablo 4 or engage in heart-stopping Combat operations in Modern Warfare 3 on Microsoft's Game Pass this year, brace yourself. The carpet has been unceremoniously yanked from under our feet. Activision has bellowed a resounding 'NO!' from the mountaintops. No, it won't slide these fan-favorites onto Game Pass this year.
Poised on the precipice of Microsoft's whopping $69 billion 'bargain buy' of Activision Blizzard (cue gasps of envy from game tycoons worldwide), expectations were as high as glaring down on Earth from the International Space Station. The UK's industry watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is expected to give a thumbs up or down soon. But our dreams of mass carnage in Modern Warfare 3 and demon-busting in Diablo 4 on the subscription service for 2022 have been brutally squashed – a cruel blow, like a body-shot from Mike Tyson.
Activision’s idea of comforting fans was a tweet that read like the buzzkill at the end of a party. It confirmed working towards regulatory approval of the Microsoft deal and took a moment to send all our hopes of a Game Pass bonanza spiraling down the drain. The tech titan innocently stated they had “no plans” to shepherd Modern Warfare 3 or Diablo 4 to the warm embrace of Game Pass this year. But hold your horses! There's a silver lining. Activision anticipates adding games into Game Pass only sometime in the course of...wait for it...next year. Guess we've no option but to twiddle our thumbs in anticipation.
The CMA, mascot of all things fair in gaming, had earlier stalled the Microsoft-Activision joyride last April. Its concern was that the deal would elbow out competition in the gaming market, a bit like a sumo wrestler at a school wrestling meet. To sweeten the deal, Microsoft agreed to palm off the streaming rights of all Activision Blizzard games, for both PC and console platforms, to a grateful Ubisoft. A move that gave the UK regulator faith in the playground being open and fair for all.
So as we close this chapter of the Microsoft-Activision saga with a heavy sigh, remember to prepare your controllers and consoles for the rough road ahead. It won't be all 'Game Pass' sunshine and rainbows in 2022. But who knows, next year might just spring a delightful surprise--just don't hold your breath.
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