Once the dust settles from Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, here are the titles we’d most like to see on Game Pass.
Last week’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft shocked both the gaming and business worlds. In a post published to Xbox Wire, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer shared that after the deal goes through, Microsoft plans to offer many of Activision Blizzard’s titles on its Game Pass service. While no specific titles were mentioned, Spencer wrote that Microsoft will put “both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog” on both PC and Xbox Game Pass. As expected, fans everywhere have gone wild imagining which old franchises from Activision and Blizzard history Microsoft will resurrect. While the obvious choices are titles from recent history, like Overwatch, there are a lot of hidden gems in both companies’ vaults that could find new audiences through Microsoft. Here are the titles and franchises we think deserve a spot on the Game Pass roster. Blizzard’s seminal MMO, which originally launched in 2004, is well due for a refresh. While the game is still churning out content and expansions — the most recent one, Shadowlands, came out in 2020 — the venerable game seems to be losing its footing to other popular games in the MMO space, like Final Fantasy XIV. While the game’s complex UI and PC-based control scheme doesn’t immediately lend itself to console gameplay, putting World of Warcraft on PC Game Pass could result in a massive revitalization for the game, particularly if fans don’t need a membership to play. A month-to-month subscription currently costs $15, which is the same price as Game Pass Ultimate. If a subscriber only played World of Warcraft during a given month and didn’t have to pay an additional subscription fee, the service would have already payed for itself. It’s almost certain that Spencer and Microsoft see this opportunity, but it remains to be seen whether game’s new publisher will take the storied MMO in a new direction or whether they will continue with Blizzard’s established template for the series. ~ Emily Morrow Another recent Blizzard property that could see a resurgence on Game Pass is Overwatch. While a sequel is already on the way, it seems to be mired in development hell, and the original title is no longer receiving new playable characters. The Overwatch League is also struggling to maintain momentum due to the impact of COVID-19, though some fans hope that the purchase will give the league a boost in production value and sponsorships. While Overwatch is currently available as a stand-alone title on Xbox platforms, putting it on Game Pass would be a great way to bridge the gap between its current status and the eventual release of Overwatch 2. Adding it to Game Pass would lower the barrier to entry for new players and could potentially entice old players back with exclusive cosmetics or limited-time events.
