There have been serious rumblings in the gaming world lately that Activision, makers of the hit MMO World of Warcraft, may find themselves with a new parent company in the form of Microsoft. With Microsoft being the owner of Xbox, this could have potentially huge ramifications for the world of gaming and could signal a major shift in Microsoft’s favor.
One of the things that could see a massive shakeup is the possibility of a Microsoft buyout of Activision leading to becoming an Xbox exclusive developer. This would mean that the Call of Duty series could be just one of the many franchises that Activision has that would be exclusive to the Xbox console. This may, however, not happen if Microsoft’s potential purchase is a means to maximize profit. The potential for Microsoft to take Activision as Xbox exclusive is one that could bring many gamers over from other consoles. On the flip side of that it could also alienate longtime fans.
It does need to be made clear that Microsoft has not actually announced any plan to purchase Activision. This is purely speculation that has been fueled by the fact that Activision’s parent company is in financial trouble and is looking for a buyer for their gaming subsidiary. They’ve even hired a banker to track down any potential buyers, and given that this was a bad year for any company that isn’t Microsoft, they’re the only ones with the real power to do it. Whether or not they do make the purchase is completely up in the air.
