After weeks of rumors and leaks about what the future holds for Xbox, the company finally shared some official news via a special episode of the Official Xbox Podcast. One lingering question that Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty addressed during the episode was just when Activision Blizzard titles would be coming to Game Pass. We now know the answer is March 28, with Diablo IV being the first title that will make its way to the subscription service. Microsoft finally completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard last October after nearly two years of jumping through hoops from various regulatory bodies across the world. Upon the deal being closed, the official Xbox Twitter account posted that “It’s a good day to play.” Well, now it looks like March 28 will also be a good day to play.
“I’m excited to announce, with the coming together that we had with Activision Blizzard King,” Sarah Bond said, “that Activision and Blizzard games are coming to Game Pass starting with Diablo IV on March 28, which I’m super, super excited to share today.” She continued that this was part of Xbox’s commitment to make an experience that is as widely available to players as possible, and that includes sharing Diablo IV with the 34 million Game Pass subscribers. Phil Spencer reassured fans that this isn’t a change in Xbox’s strategy; rather, it is delivering on the long-time goal of letting Xbox fans play anywhere on any device.
Diablo IV broke sales records at Activision Blizzard when it launched on June 6, 2023. At the five-day mark the game had earned $666 million in sales globally, making it the fastest-selling Blizzard game ever. The game itself is more of the same for Diablo fans, and is “the perfect head empty, kill shit game,” as we said in our preview.