Acquisition of Activision-Blizzard will bring millions of subscribers to Xbox Game Pass, according to one analyst

Popular Michael Pachter is confident that the operation will be carried out without antitrust investigations.

Plans to acquire Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft were announced in January, launching one of the largest operations in video game history with results we haven’t quite seen today. But that doesn’t mean analysts don’t want to predict the future. That’s the case for Michael Patcher of Wedbush Securities, who expects Xbox Game Pass to add up to 200 million subscribers as long as the process continues.

At the beginning of the year, Xbox Game Pass had 25 million subscribers.“Microsoft had a vision a few years ago that I thought was silly: to create a subscription service and have everyone pay for the right to play, but they just didn’t have games,” Patcher says. But then the Redmond giant adds that it started an acquisition spree, first shutting down several independent studios, then Bethesda, and now Activision-Blizzard, an industry giant. Now with many developers and a strong commitment to the cloudthe analyst believes that Xbox Game Pass to grow from 25 million to 100 million.

But for this, the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft must first be closed. What does Patcher think about potential antitrust issues that may exist? In response, the operation is not at risk, as the Federal Trade Commission sees no legal basis for stopping the operation. As he added, the only problem could arise from removing all video games from competing stores, something that Phil Spencer and his team have already denied.

When will the deal close?

That way, and if it comes as no shock, the Wedbush Securities analyst expects the parent sale of Call of Duty and Diablo to close in January of next year. When autumn begins, a clearer estimated date can be given.

Michael Patcher has already mentioned this operation in the past, especially when he left Sony’s video game business with bad hopes: “The PlayStation has come to an end, and I think it will cease to exist in about 10 years as we know it.”