Some Xbox gamers are hoping that the 2009 Wolfenstein Xbox 360 game could be added to the backward compatibility lineup after Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is complete. Now that Microsoft has won its court case against the FTC, it is technically free to close its deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. The record-breaking deal is expected to close later this week, but it remains to be seen just how long fans will have to wait to see an impact.
We already know that Call of Duty can't come to Xbox Game Pass on day one until 2025 at the earliest, though the deal's finalization could see classic CoD games hit Game Pass much sooner. Xbox Game Pass potentially getting access to Call of Duty and all of Activision Blizzard's older games could be huge for the service. And it may also create an opportunity for the underrated 2009 Wolfenstein Xbox 360 game to make a comeback.
The 2009 Wolfenstein game was the last game published prior to id Software being acquired by ZeniMax Media. It was developed by Activision-owned studio Raven Software and published by Activision itself. This has seemingly prevented the game from being part of the Xbox backward compatibility program or getting re-released in another manner, but now that Microsoft will have ZeniMax, Activision, Raven Software, id Software, and Bethesda all under one roof, it stands to reason that the game could technically be made playable on modern Xbox consoles.
But just because Microsoft may technically have the power to bring back the 2009 Wolfenstein game, that doesn't mean it will actually do so. Microsoft stopped adding games to the Xbox backward compatibility program years ago, and it's hard to see it opening it back up now. While it has its fans and many consider it an underrated Xbox 360 FPS, the 2009 Wolfenstein game earned mixed reviews at the time of its release and has since been way overshadowed by MachineGames' Wolfenstein titles. There may simply not be enough demand for it.
However, there are other Activision Blizzard-published games that could justify another update to the backward compatibility lineup, including various titles from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras. Ultimately, fans don't know for sure how extensive Microsoft plans to be when it comes to adding Activision Blizzard content to Xbox Game Pass, so details on that front will have to wait for another time. While the classic games may never come, though, fans can at least count on the modern Activision Blizzard games with native Xbox One and Xbox Series X versions coming to the service eventually.
Wolfenstein is available for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.