Activision confirms it has "no plans" to bring Modern Warfare 3 or Diablo 4 to Game Pass this year

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 — (Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

Activision says it doesn't plan to bring Modern Warfare 3 or Diablo 4 to Game Pass this year should Microsoft's $69 billion bid for the company be successful.

It's been a long and bumpy road, but with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expected to give its final verdict this week, Microsoft could be mere days away from finalising its purchase of Activision Blizzard. With the deal now likely to go through, fans have been curious as to whether Activision plans to bring the likes of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 to Game Pass.

In response, Activision has posted a message on Twitter which reads, "As we continue to work toward regulatory approval of the Microsoft deal, we've been getting some questions whether our upcoming and recently launched games will be available via Game Pass.

Article continues below

"While we do not have plans to put Modern Warfare® III or Diablo IV into Game Pass this year, once the deal closes, we expect to start working with Xbox to bring our titles to more players around the world. And we anticipate that we would begin adding games into Game Pass sometime in the course of next year."

The CMA has been a huge obstacle for Microsoft, having moved to block the acquisition deal back in April. At the time, it stated that should it go through, it would potentially damage competition in the gaming market. In an effort to seal the deal, Microsoft agreed to sell the streaming rights to all Activision Blizzard games - across both PC and console platforms - to Ubisoft. In response, the UK regulator said that this "substantially addresses previous concerns and opens the door to the deal being cleared".

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.