When Microsoftbought Activision Blizzard for almost $70 billion last month, the tech giant’s CEO Satya Nadella was quick to bring up the metaverse in his comments. “In gaming, we see the metaverse as a collection of communities and individual identities anchored in strong content franchises accessible on every device,” Nadella said. The company also noted the deal would “provide building blocks for the metaverse” in its statement.

But it still wasn’t quite clear where Nadella saw the link between building the metaverse and buying, in Activision Blizzard, a bunch of game studios and a huge catalog of intellectual property. Speaking to theFinancial Times, Nadella has attempted to shed some more light on his thinking.

Microsoft’s massive deal toacquire Activision Blizzard could face adifficult review process. The Federal Trade Commission will review the deal, rather than the Justice Department,according to a report from Bloomberg.

The deal, which Microsoft expects to close by the end of fiscal Q4 2023, will see Microsoft gain control of major franchises like Call of Duty, Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch.Microsoft has stated that it plans to keep releasing many of these games on Sony’s PlayStation platform, at least as long ascurrent contract agreements are in place, but the potential remains for Xbox to shut its competitor out of some of the biggest franchises in the world should the deal go through.

Call of Duty’s upcoming titles are still headed to PlayStation consoles, even though the franchise’s parent company, Activision Blizzard, isbeing acquired by Microsoft. The 2022 and 2023 Call of Duty releases, at least, will both be available on PlayStation consoles as well as Windows PC and Xbox, along with a “new iteration” of Call of Duty: Warzone,reports Bloomberg. The games will be released on Sony’s consoles as part of an existing agreement between the company and Activision; that commitment will remain in effect “for at least the next two years,” Bloomberg says, citing four people “with knowledge of the deal.”

Bloomberg’s report also clarifies that, for now, Call of Duty’s upcoming schedule is what most people expected it to be: This year’s iteration is being developed by Infinity Ward, the studio behind 2019’s Modern Warfare (which Call of Duty 2022 will likely be a sequel to), while 2023’s game will be developed by Treyarch, the maker of 2020’s Black Ops Cold War.

Following Microsoft’s acquisition announcement ofCall of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard, Sony responded Thursdayto the idea that certain games may eventually become Microsoft exclusives.

“We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform,”a Sony representative told The Wall Street Journal. This is in line with what Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wrote Tuesday following the announcement: that Activision Blizzard games are played on plenty of different platforms, and Microsoft plans to “continue to support those communities moving forward.”

Microsoft’s pendingpurchase of Activision Blizzard, if the government gives it the OK, is first and foremost a deal aboutabout video games. This is a deal about Call of Duty, Game Pass, and the future of virtual entertainment. Or maybe it’s a deal about the metaverse, Web3, and making the HoloLens as ubiquitous as an iPhone. It’s a big deal.

But it could also be a deal about TV shows. While not a focal point of either company at the moment, there are a few potential TV shows whose fates remain up in the air after Microsoft’s potential purchase was announced. Chief among these are plans for adaptations of Diablo and Overwatch.

On Tuesday Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard — makers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, and many other popular video game franchises — fora reported $68.7 billion. The move comes amidst heightened tensions between leaders at Activision Blizzard and workersattempting to form a union. Organizers say that despite the distraction and the potential for new leadership, the fight for worker’s rights at Activision Blizzard is still ongoing.

In a statement Tuesday on Twitter, the Activision Blizzard King Workers’ Alliance was adamant that the change must come from the top of the company — regardless of who its owner is.

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard brings major game franchises like Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, StarCraft, and Warcraft to the house of Xbox. It’s a coup for Microsoft, which not only grows its number of internal game development studios to 30, but also a major boon for Game Pass, the company’s subscription service that brings subscribers a monthly menu of games for Xbox consoles, mobile devices, and PC.

The Game Pass library will eventually include Activision Blizzard’s games, Microsoft confirmed, but likely not until 2023, when the deal is expected to be complete.

Bobby Kotick will remain chief executive of Activision Blizzard while Microsoft closes its deal to acquire the embattled publisher ofCall of Duty,World of Warcraft, andOverwatch. When the $68.7 billion deal is finalized in 2023, “the Activision Blizzard business” will report to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, Microsoft said.

But it remains unclear what Kotick’s position at Activision Blizzard, if he still has one, will be after the proposed buyout is completed. The companies say only that Kotick will remain CEO through Microsoft’s 2023 fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2023. Kotick told The New York Times that he “will be available as needed” after the closing.

Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, publisher of some of the most popular games on the planet (from World of Warcraft to Call of Duty), as well as the studios currently embroiled inmultiple lawsuits related to accusations of gender discrimination in its workplace, the company announced Tuesday. Xbox boss Phil Spencer will serve as the CEO of Microsoft Gaming and oversee Activision Blizzard once the transaction is finalized.

The deal is worth $68.7 billion, Microsoft said, the largest acquisition in the company’s history.