The unavailable backward compatible games on Xbox may not be set in stone like previously thought. That list of unavailable games could become even shorter on current Xbox hardware thanks to the potential Activision and Blizzard acquisition.
Microsoft’s possible deal with Activision and Blizzard could mean great things for players as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft could come to Game Pass with their future installments. With the acquisition in play, upcoming releases are not the only thing that players can look forward to, as great things may also be coming back from the past. According to Xbox insider Shpeshal_Nick, certain games from previous generations may finally have their due on current gen Xbox hardware thanks to the acquisition that could clear up licensing barriers.
According to Shpehsal_Nick on the latest episode of the XboxEra podcast, licensing barriers for certain games would no longer be an issue under Microsoft. What these games are have not yet been revealed, although the source does say that players should not hold out hope for Marvel games, like Spider-Man and X-Men, because they involve more complicated licensing with Disney. If the Activision and Blizzard deal goes through, the insider states that the possible games to become available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S via backward compatibility should amount to two or three Xbox 360 titles under the umbrella of those studios. Despite Xbox backward compatibility updates coming to an end, this deal would bring these welcomed surprises to Xbox's collection of backward compatible titles.
The nearly 70 billion dollar acquisition is almost complete while Microsoft waits on the Federal Trade Commission, but even so, Activision Blizzard shareholders have approved the Microsoft deal. Despite this, there are still hurdles to overcome for Microsoft as Saudi Arabia remains the only competition regulator that has given the stamp of approval with eyes also raised among US senators regarding security concerns and the possibility of insider trading.
There is still a list of Xbox 360 games that aren't backward compatible, but even so, Microsoft sets the precedent for how the preservation of previous generation games should be handled, and this acquisition could further solidify this as an opportunity to raise the number of backward compatible titles that are available. Time will tell on what these Xbox games could be upon the finalization of the Microsoft Activision Blizzard deal.
Source: DualShockers