How many users could the Microsoft/Activision deal bring to Xbox Game Pass?
Microsoft's plan to purchase Activision Blizzard for an astounding $68.7 billion is the company’s biggest play yet to shore up titles for Xbox Game Pass, its Netflix-style subscription service for Xbox, PC and mobile.
“Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog,” said Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming in the announcement.
While Call of Duty is the flagship franchise for the publisher, its stable of titles also bring dedicated followers and huge growth potential for Game Pass.
If we combine the results of all the major Activision titles presented to respondents, we see 43% of Xbox gamers in the US – and 48% in the UK – would consider signing up for Game Pass if all the titles were on the platform.
Also of interest is the 46% of PlayStation gamers in the US – and 29% in the UK – who indicated interest in a Game Pass that includes major Activision titles – putting Microsoft in a strong position to carve up its main competitor’s market. We see similar figures among Nintendo fans: 46% in the US and 26% in the UK indicate interest.
The deal comes after Microsoft's purchase of ZeniMax Media last year, which brought in titles such as The Elder Scrolls, Doom, and Fallout.
Looking at American consumers who only play games on their phone, 17% indicated interest in playing an Activision game on Game Pass.
On top of beefing up the already stacked Game Pass lineup, Microsoft’s latest deal will help create the building blocks for the company’s push into the metaverse, where online gaming platforms will play an outsized role.
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Methodology: YouGov polled 1,200 US adults online on January 19, 2022 between 11:47 a.m. and 7:40 p.m. ET. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, political affiliation, and ethnicity. Results are nationally representative of adults in the United States. The margin of error is 2.8% for the overall sample.
YouGov polled 1,200 British adults online on January 19, 2022 between 4:36 and 8:55 p.m. BST. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. Results are nationally representative of adults in Great Britain. The margin of error is 2.8% for the overall sample. Learn more about YouGov Direct.