I can't say I didn't call it. Then again, basically everyone with a passing interest in gaming called it: the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by gaming giant Microsoft, which I've been writing about every so often as the hotly disputed case progresses, is now in the last stages of being finalized and codified, and it looks like a monopoly is going to be created as a result. While the upcoming Modern Warfare 3 won't be headed to Microsoft's Game Pass service at release, Activision has announced that they plan to put games from their catalog on it starting next year, once the ink on the deal is dry:
This would confirm FTC regulators' fears that Microsoft could leverage the immense player base of Activision games like Call of Duty and Diablo to upset the balance between itself and Sony in the mainstream gaming market. While CoD will reportedly stay on PlayStation per a deal between Microsoft and Sony, Microsoft could revoke that agreement at any time, and having those games on Game Pass, thus potentially driving millions of dedicated CoD players to the subscription service, would certainly make it more enticing to do so. As always, time will tell.