Microsoft Acquire Activision and Crash

So, here's the thing - Microsoft have acquired Activision Blizzard. As Activision owns the Crash Bandicoot franchise, that means that Crash will now be owned by Microsoft. So, Crash may be prioritised on the Xbox in future, not Sony's PlayStation any longer.

I'm sure you've all heard the news by now, but I thought it was important to remind you all that this was a thing that happened when we hit 2022. Is it a bad thing? Heck no, it's actually a very, very good thing.

You see, I have deliberately held off on news regarding Activision Blizzard's... unsavoury escapades, revealed in 2021. The toxic representation that had developed by male Activision employees really tarnished the publisher's image, as did CEO Bobby Kotick. This all frankly soured Crash's 25th anniversary. The fact that something big and new was clearly going to be revealed for Crash, and was buried in light of their publisher, Activision's actions, speaks volumes for how atrocious the company have been.

Crash Bandicoot's 25th anniversary was buried beneath Activision Blizzard's negative press coverage

One key factor of this acquisition is that Microsoft won't be pulling all Activision Blizzard development teams to suddenly work on projects that don't align with their core skillset... or wants at all. For, you see, Crash Bandicoot 4 developers, Toys for Bob, were pulled away from Crash and their skillsets in developing stylised platformers, to work on the newest Call of Duty. This was alongside other developers. You may recall I was very frustrated with this, at the time, as it just wasn't a winning situation for anyone.

Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, confirms that: “Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them. Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”

Crash has a 25-year history with Sony and Nintendo, but not really Microsoft... until now

It's all been quiet on the Western Front since the big news, but I think this all helps to serve the employees of the Activision's development teams so that such levels of mistreatment (which occurred previously) can happen again. Here's hoping Toys for Bob can work on projects that suit their strengths, such as Crash, as well as smoother future for the employees of them and other dev teams.

For more news about the acquisition, visit Microsoft's Xbox blog.