Two years after buying ZeniMax Media and scooping up games like The Elder Scrolls and Starfield, Microsoft has announced its plans to purchase Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The acquisition, which is set to finalize in July 2023, will be one of the biggest buyouts in gaming. Microsoft will own developers behind even more of the most popular games, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Candy Crush.
With Microsoft gobbling up so many studios and games, it's difficult to keep track of what the mammoth corporation owns. To make it a little clearer, here's a list of every studio that Microsoft Studios owns.
Although this list is hefty, it's not the ultimate reflection of Microsoft's influence. The company also has plenty of other distribution deals with a variety of developers that are not listed here because it does not directly own them, like Ori and the Blind Forest developer Moon Studios.
Publishers
ZeniMax Media
Price: $7.5 billion
Studios: Bethesda Game Studios, ZeniMax Online Studios, id Software, Arkane Studios, Machine Games, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios
Best-known games and franchises: The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, Dishonored, and The Evil Within
Upcoming games: Ghostwire: Tokyo, Redfall, and Starfield
Activision Blizzard
Price: $68.7 billion
Studios: Blizzard, Treyarch, Infinity Ward, High Moon Studios, Toys for Bob, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Beenox, Radical Entertainment, and Vicarious Visions (now merged with Blizzard)
Best-known games and franchises: Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Overwatch, StarCraft, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Guitar Hero, Skylanders, and Spyro the Dragon
Upcoming games: Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, and Call of Duty (2022)
Developers
Rare
Price: $375 million
Best-known games and franchises: GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, Viva Piñata, Sea of Thieves, and Battletoads
Upcoming games: Everwild
343 Industries (Halo)
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: Halo
Upcoming games: Unknown
The Coalition (Gears of War)
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: Gears of War
Upcoming games: Unknown
Mojang
Price: $2.5 billion
Best-known games and franchises: Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons
Upcoming games: Unknown
Ninja Theory
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: Heavenly Sword, DmC: Devil May Cry, Disney Infinity, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Upcoming games: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 and Project: Mara
Playground Games
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: Forza Horizon, Forza Motorsport
Upcoming games: Fable
Undead Labs
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: State of Decay
Upcoming games: State of Decay 3
Compulsion Games
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: Contrast and We Happy Few
Upcoming games: Unknown
Obsidian Entertainment
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Pillars of Eternity, The Outer Worlds, and Grounded
Upcoming games: Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2
InXile Entertainment
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and Wasteland 3
Upcoming games: Unknown
Double Fine
Price: Unknown
Best-known games and franchises: Psychonauts, Broken Age, Brütal Legend, Costume Quest, and Grim Fandango Remastered
Upcoming games: Unknown
Tried to buy
Discord
Price: $12 billion
Why it didn't happen: Discord rejected the bid, according to Bloomberg.
Square Enix
Price: Unknown
Why it didn't happen: Square Enix refuted the report, claiming that it's not selling off the company or any part of its businesses.
