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With the Microsoft/FTC fiasco nearing an end, the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is inevitable. As such, it is imminent that players will see many iconic games under the publisher make their way to as many users as possible. In fact, this has already begun with the arrival of Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch 2 on Steam. More titles will undoubtedly follow in the future.
That begs the question: can players on Steam expect price cuts to older titles from Activison-Blizzard? After all, Microsoft is known for being largely consumer-friendly with regard to game pricing on Valve's digital game store.
Can players expect price cuts to existing Activision-Blizzard games on Steam?
It is no secret that Activison-Blizzard titles have been outrageously overpriced on Steam, especially older games. 2008's acclaimed FPS Call of Duty: World at War is still 20 US Dollars with no discount. The cult-classic 2007 WRPG Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is also the same price during most Steam Sales.
We're talking about a borderline broken game here that underwent a very troubled development cycle under the now-defunct Troika Games. This is something players have been complaining about for over a decade now. So it is no surprise that even relatively recent games published by Activision-Blizzard only go down to a max of 50% off, like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
As for Blizzard, their games have not been on Steam - until now, that is. Overwatch 2 marks the first game from the iconic developer on Valve's platform. However, it is a free-to-play experience, unlike the original game. So the barrier of entry is non-existent. When other premium games like World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2, Diablo 3, and more make it over, fans can judge the outcome.
That said, from a purely speculative perspective, it is highly likely these Activision-Blizzard games will see pricing changes to more reasonable numbers at the very least. Microsoft's own first-party titles, such as Sea of Thieves, Grounded, and Gears 5, see big discounts during Steam sales, and Activison-Blizzard IPs will join the family soon. Yes, there are outliers, like the upcoming Starfield boasting a $70 price tag.
Hopefully, that is not the case for everything. At the very least, we can be sure that older retro goodness will be unaffected by these modern pricing spikes. The question is, when will this come into play? The Activison-Blizzard merger deadline has been extended until October 28, 2023. So players should expect changes to arrive by the end of this year.
Will Activision-Blizzard's Battle.net client be replaced in favor of Steam in the coming future?
This is all but given. We already have Bethesda as the perfect example of this. After acquiring the acclaimed RPG studio, Microsoft decided to shut down the Bethesda Launcher and migrate all Bethesda.net account holder's games to Steam. Currently, Overwatch 2's upcoming Steam release also requires to have a Battle.net account.
So it would not be a surprise to see similar changes happen with Battle.net. Currently, the digital storefront is home to various Activision-Blizzard games, including exclusives like the latest ARPG Diablo 4. Lesser launchers to manage on PC can only mean good things for users. In other words, the future is exciting for gamers.
Stay tuned for more details regarding the Activison-Blizzard merger as we near the final acquisition phase in the coming months.
