Activision Blizzard’s latest games will start arriving on Xbox Game Pass in 2024 if Microsoft deal closes

Activision Blizzard says it will start adding games to Xbox Game Pass next year, if the deal with Microsoft closes. Microsoft is currently aiming to close its proposed deal with Activision Blizzard on Friday, pending approval from a UK regulator.

In a vague and oddly timed post on X (formerly Twitter), Activision Blizzard makes it clear to Xbox fans that both Modern Warfare III and Diablo IV It will not be part of Xbox Game Pass in 2023.

“While we have no plans to put Modern Warfare III either Diablo IV on Game Pass this year, once the deal closes, we hope to start working with Xbox to bring our titles to more players around the world,” says Activision Blizzard’s statement. “And we anticipate that we would begin adding games to Game Pass sometime next year.”

The statement mentions questions from Xbox fans about “if our Upcoming and recently released games. (our emphasis) will be available through Game Pass,” but it doesn’t address the many existing Activision Blizzard games that were released years ago and could be added to Game Pass sooner. Activision has a huge catalog of existing products. Obligations games that many expect to be part of Xbox Game Pass.

Microsoft went to great lengths to fix the classic Xbox 360 Obligations titles in July, just before the deadline of the original deal, after players had complained for years about not being able to matchmaking in games like call of Duty Black Ops and the original Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. It cannot be pure coincidence that these Obligations The games were suddenly fixed just as Microsoft was preparing for the final stages of its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Either way, it’s clear that we won’t see any recent Activision Blizzard releases on Xbox Game Pass this year, as long as Microsoft’s deal closes before the October 18 deadline. Activision Blizzard still has an exclusive marketing agreement with Sony for Obligations, also. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) previously mentioned that the new versions of Obligations wouldn’t arrive on Xbox Game Pass until 2025 due to Sony’s deal, but it’s unclear exactly when that exclusivity ends now that Microsoft and Sony have signed a new 10-year deal. Obligations deal recently.