What does the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard mean for Star Wars?

It’s difficult to really explain how big Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is for the gaming industry. To the cool tune of $68.2B, one of the industry’s largest publishers will be folded into Xbox Game Studios, handing Microsoft the keys to some of the most prominent titles in gaming. Call of Duty, Warcraft, Starcraft, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon — the list goes on. Huge franchises, now at the whim of Microsoft. The closest comparison I can make to this happening outside of the video game industry is, probably, Disney buying Lucasfilm. Colossal.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the deal at this stage (it hasn’t even been finalised), there is going to be a great deal of speculation as to what this means moving forward. Head of Xbox Game Studios, Phil Spencer, has alluded to Microsoft’s competitors continuing to see Activision Blizzard titles in the future. Of course, it remains to be seen what that actually means in practice.

Activision and Star Wars

For ourselves, it becomes a question of what it means for Star Wars. Activision Blizzard hasn’t enjoyed a great number of visits into the Star Wars galaxy, but its trips have been notable. Raven Software, acquired by Activision in 1997, enjoyed a great level of success developing Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, the latter of which was published by Activision rather than LucasArts. Tony Hawks Pro Skater’s 3 and 4 added Darth Maul and Jango Fett as unlockable characters respectively. And Activision Blizzard published Angry Birds Star Wars I and II on consoles as part of their publishing agreement with series developer Rovio.

So, what does this mean moving forward? It’s truly difficult to say. As we well know, Lucasfilm Games was formed out of the decision to diversify the video game aspect of Lucasfilm’s franchises. Currently, EA has an exclusivity deal with the Star Wars license, that last until 2024. In anticipation of the end of that deal, future Star Wars titles have been announced. To date, we know that Ubisoft Massive, Aspyr Media, and Quantic Dream are all working on titles, with a sequel to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order allegedly set to be revealed soon. You’ll notice that Activision Blizzard isn’t among the companies named. However, there were rumours of Lucasfilm reaching out to Activision Blizzard to take on the franchise back in 2018.

The future of Star Wars in video games

Interestingly, however, an Xbox Game Studio announced they would be working on a title based on a Lucasfilm property. Bethesda, which was acquired by Microsoft as part of their ZeniMax  Media purchase in 2021, did announce they were working on an Indiana Jones title in January 2021, prior to the buyout. It was assumed then that the title would see release across all platforms, however it remains to be seen whether that will stand, given the deal to join Microsoft was made after the announcement. Given Microsoft honoured the existing exclusivity deals Bethesda had in place prior to the purchase (both Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo are timed PS5 exclusives), it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we might see Indy on both Xbox Series consoles, and Playstation 5, in the near future.

Will we see an Activision Blizzard Star Wars title in the future? That remains to be seen, of course. I don’t doubt that Lucasfilm Games are working to build relationships with a number of publishers and developers, so it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that one with the size Activision Blizzard enjoys would be approached. Would that conversation lead to an Xbox exclusive Star Wars title, however? I think we’ll need to see how Indiana Jones is handled before jumping to any conclusions.

What are your thoughts on the acquisition? Can you see Star Wars in the hands of Activision Blizzard? Let us know!