We welcome Activision Blizzard's incredible teams and legendary franchises to Microsoft Gaming

The creators of Call of Duty, Warcraft, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot, StarCraft and more join Team Xbox

As a team, we are on a mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. We all know that gaming is the most vibrant and dynamic form of entertainment in the world, and we have experienced the power of social connection and friendship that gaming makes possible.

As we pursue this mission, it is incredibly exciting to announce that Microsoft has agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard.

Over the course of many decades, the studios and teams that make up Activision Blizzard have earned vast sources of joy and respect from billions of people around the world. We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented and dedicated people at Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and all Activision Blizzard teams.

Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard company will bring me back as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.

When finished, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as possible within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard's incredible catalog. We also announced today that Game Pass now has over 25 million subscribers. As always, we can't wait to continue adding more value and more great games to Game Pass.

Activision Blizzard's awesome franchises will also accelerate our Cloud Gaming plans, allowing more people in more places around the world to join the Xbox community using phones, tablets, laptops and other devices you already own. Activision Blizzard games are playable on a variety of platforms and we intend to continue supporting those communities as they move forward.

As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of the game, both among employees and among gamers. We deeply appreciate the individual cultures in the studio. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand in hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We keep all the teams, and all the leaders, in this commitment. We look forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the big Activision Blizzard teams.

In the whole world, there is no place for fun and connection more exciting than video games. And there has never been a better time to play than now. As we extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone, we can't wait to welcome all of our friends from Activision Blizzard to Microsoft Gaming.