Activision News Articles
Monday8th Apr 2024
News Diablo 4 Gets New Lease Of Life On Xbox Thanks To Successful Game Pass Launch
"Xbox has quickly become the #1 platform"
Microsoft finally graced us with its first ActiBlizz Xbox Game Pass addition at the end of March in the form of Diablo 4, and its arrival has given the Xbox platform a huge boost already. Xbox exec Sarah Bond has revealed that Xbox has become the biggest platform for Diablo 4 since it came to the Game Pass...
Thursday28th Mar 2024
News Call Of Duty: MW3's Next Update Contains Absolutely Tons Of New Content
Six 6v6 maps! The return of Rebirth Island!
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has just unveiled its next batch of seasonal content - and this is one of series' biggest updates for quite some time. Alongside the return of the ever popular Rebirth Island Warzone map, MW3 is getting six core multiplayer maps, four weapons, four game modes and a whole lot...
Wednesday27th Mar 2024
News Diablo 4 Adds Console Ray Tracing Ahead Of Xbox Game Pass Debut
"Patch 1.3.5. introduces Raytracing to all supported platforms"
Blizzard has detailed its big ray tracing update for Diablo 4, right on the eve of the title's Xbox Game Pass debut. Patch 1.3.5 "introduces Raytracing to all supported platforms", alongside a host of other graphical tweaks and improvements. Ray traced shadows and reflections have been...
Tuesday26th Mar 2024
News Xbox's Call Of Duty: Warzone Mobile Bringing In Plenty Of Cash Already
In its first four days on the market!
Xbox has been spotted promoting Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile on its console storefront lately, and the team's heavy advertising push seems to be paying off. Coming by way of PocketGamer, the new mobile CoD release has seemingly raked in $1.4m in its first four days on the
Friday22nd Mar 2024
News Microsoft Is Heavily Promoting COD: Warzone Mobile, And It Supports Xbox Controllers
"Download for free"
A big reason behind Xbox's purchase of Activision Blizzard was to push further into the mobile market, and a new full-width advert on the Microsoft Store is certainly doing its best to point Xbox fans in that direction. As spotted on Xbox consoles (including ours here at Pure Xbox HQ), Microsoft has begun heavily advertising
Wednesday21st Feb 2024
News Xbox Reiterates It's Bringing Activision Blizzard's 'Full Portfolio' To Game Pass
Yes, including Call of Duty
Following the announcement last week that Diablo 4 would be added to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has now shared a brief update about what this means for the rest of Activision Blizzard's library. In an interview with Game File, Spencer reiterated how the plan was to eventually deliver the "full...
Thursday15th Feb 2024
News Activision Blizzard's First Game Pass Release Has Been Confirmed By Xbox
Arriving next month!!
Update [Fri 16th Feb, 2024 04:30 GMT]: The Verge's senior editor has reached out to Microsoft and confirmed Diablo 4 "won't" be available to Xbox Game Pass Core subscribers. "Diablo IV is coming to Xbox Game Pass on March 28th, with the exception of the Xbox Game Pass Core catalog,” says Kari Perez, head of communications...
Thursday8th Feb 2024
News Toys For Bob Office Closing, But There's Apparently No Need To Worry
The Crash & Spyro dev is not actually "closing down"
There have been a lot of rumours doing the rounds this week about Xbox's future, and earlier today, there were claims Activision developer Toys for Bob was potentially "closing down" following Microsoft's announcement of mass layoffs. While the future of the studio is still somewhat unclear,...
Wednesday7th Feb 2024
News Call Of Duty: MW3 Free Multiplayer Trial Announced, Starts This Week
Experience Season 2 and Zombies
As part of the Season 2 launch of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Activision is offering another free trial period. It will run from February 8th until February 12th, and will give players access to the game's multiplayer. This includes access to a total of nine multiplayer maps, five multiplayer modes, and the...
Tuesday6th Feb 2024
News Call Of Duty: MW3 Season 2 Launches Next Week, Here's Everything Included
Update: And here's a look at the new maps
Update [Tue 6th Feb, 2024 06:15 GMT]: Ahead of tomorrow's update, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has now shared a look at all of the multiplayer maps included as part of it. This includes three brand-new 6v6 maps: Stash House, Vista and Departures. Original article [Fri 2nd Feb, 2024 04:00 GMT]: Call...
Wednesday31st Jan 2024
News Xbox Predicts 'Hardware Decline' Despite Huge Revenue Boost From ActiBlizz
Services are on the up
Microsoft's latest earnings report has been an eye-opening one, with its gaming division posting huge revenue boosts - propelling the sector to Microsoft's third largest business within the company. While much of that is attributed to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, one area that doesn't seem to be growing so fast is...
News The Walking Dead Is Officially Coming To Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
There's only one Rick Grimes
Call of Duty has had some pretty big crossovers in its time, but this upcoming effort is one of the franchise's most exciting yet. To put it simply - The Walking Dead is officially coming to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 during Season 2 in February. Now, the exact form this crossover will take is still up in the air at...
News Gaming Becomes Microsoft's 'Third Largest Business' In Latest Quarter
It has surpassed Windows with the help of ActiBlizz
It's been a bit of a wild start to the year for Xbox with a Developer Direct, mass layoffs, some record-breaking milestones, and now the
News Xbox's Gaming Revenue Receives Huge 49% Boost YoY From Activision Blizzard Acquisition
The second quarter fiscal year 2024 results are in
Microsoft has just released its earning results for FY24 Q2 and Xbox's gaming revenue has experienced huge growth in the latest quarter, up by 49% year-over-year. This growth is credited mostly to Microsoft securing Activision Blizzard, which closed last year on October 13, 2023. This latest figure...
Monday29th Jan 2024
News Xbox Hires Call Of Duty GM As New President Of Blizzard Entertainment
"I cannot wait to get going"
Following the departure of Blizzard President Mike Ybarra last week, Microsoft has today announced a successor in the form of the Call of Duty GM Johanna Faries, who will officially begin her role on February 5th. In a message to Blizzard employees earlier today, Faries shared her enthusiasm for the role, while also...
News Unreleased Call Of Duty Gameplay Leaks Online From Project 'NX1'
Footage from an Xbox 360 era COD has appeared
Call of Duty is a juggernaut franchise and has been for decades at this point, and it was the Xbox 360 era of the franchise that got the ball well and truly rolling. Annual releases became the norm that generation, but as it turns out, there were some projects — quite far along in development might we...
Saturday27th Jan 2024
News Microsoft Will Apparently Announce Blizzard's New President 'Next Week'
Mike Ybarra is departing
Xbox this week revealed it was laying off 1,900 employees and in the process, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, who was an ex-Microsoft executive before this, also announced his departure. There's still obviously a lot to take in, but if you are wondering who will replace Ybarra, apparently that update will be happening as...
Thursday25th Jan 2024
News Xbox Is Employing 'A More Focused Strategy' After Merging With Activision Blizzard
"Together we will continue to create amazing games"
Following the Microsoft and Blizzard layoff news posted earlier today, Xbox's Matt Booty has also made a lengthy statement on the company's reasoning behind such a huge round of job losses. Coming by wa
News Blizzard President Quits Microsoft, In-Development Survival Game Also Cancelled
"It’s an incredibly hard day"
After today's megaton news of almost 2,000 job losses over at Team Xbox, we have even more disruption amongst the ranks. Long-time Blizzard president and ex-Microsoft executive Mike Ybarra has announced his departure from the studio - and with it the cancellation of Blizzard's in-development survival game. Ybarra has...
News Microsoft Cuts 1,900 Jobs Across Xbox, Bethesda And Activision Blizzard Teams
"We have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce"
The move to bring Activision Blizzard into the Xbox ecosystem has largely been seen as a positive one, but unfortunately we have some bad news to share today. As part of a company restructure post-ActiBlizz deal, Microsoft has laid off almost 2,000 people. Shared by IGN...
News Call Of Duty: MW3's Online Multiplayer Is Now Apparently 50% Less Toxic
The game's 'Code of Conduct' has also been updated
Activision recently updated the Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 "Code of Conduct" to combat anti-toxicity and disruptive behaviour. Included in the same blog was a breakdown of the game's moderation systems - revealing how the situation has improved in the multiplayer component of the game over time...
Wednesday17th Jan 2024
News Microsoft CEO Says ActiBlizz Deal Helps Xbox Become 'A Good Publisher' On All Platforms
"On Sony, Nintendo, PCs and Xbox"
Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal finally came to its long-awaited conclusion back in October 2023, with the two companies successfully merging late last year. While the deal makes the Xbox platform a much-more inviting one for gamers, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been keen to point out that this benefits...
Wednesday13th Dec 2023
News Call Of Duty: MW3 Free Trial Hits Xbox Consoles This Week
Jump into core MP, Zombies and Ground War!
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launched just over a month ago, and as December's Season 1 content begins to settle in, the team is dropping a free trial for all players on Xbox, PlayStation and PC. The trial kicks off tomorrow, December 14th, and lasts through the weekend until Monday, December 18th. As...
Wednesday6th Dec 2023
News Call Of Duty: MW3 Season 1 Now Live, Featuring Lots Of Free Content On Xbox
Including a brand-new Warzone map!
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 may have launched with a lack of actual new content (the game's multiplayer comprised entirely of remade maps), but developer Sledgehammer Games is certainly doing it best to correct that in Season 1. Now live, the game's first post-launch season contains loads of new content for...
Wednesday29th Nov 2023
News Xbox & Activision Blizzard Are Merging At A 'Really Impressive Speed', Says Xbox CFO
"The speed at which we've worked together is really impressive"
Xbox and Activision Blizzard have only been one entity for a little over a month, at least officially, but the two companies seem to be coming together at speedy pace so far. Speaking at a recent summit, Xbox CFO Tim Stuart talked about the team integrating with ActiBlizz, and how the...
News Call Of Duty: MW3 Players 'Grinded More Than A Full Plate' On Thanksgiving Holiday
Hours per player rival CoD's 2019 success
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 might not have experienced the best reception at launch, but it doesn't appear to be impacting the game's popularity. After Activision revealed last week that the latest entry had set new "engagement records", the official Call of Duty social media account has now highlighted...
Thursday23rd Nov 2023
News Modern Warfare 3 Analysis Highlights 'The Least Stable' Call Of Duty On Xbox Series S
It's struggling to hit 60FPS
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was reportedly developed in a super short time frame compared to other CoD titles, and it looks like the Xbox Series S may have suffered as a result of Activision getting the game out by the end of 2023. Outlet
Report Call Of Duty Black Ops To Return With 'Gulf War' Setting In 2024
Longtime developer Treyarch at the helm
It's only been a matter of days since Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launched on Xbox, and we have a new report about the next CoD game already! 2024's release is set to be led by developer Treyarch, and the rumours are that it's another Black Ops title - this time set in and amongst the first Gulf War. That...
Wednesday22nd Nov 2023
News Call Of Duty: MW3 Sets 'New Modern Warfare Engagement Records'
A "historic launch" under the Xbox banner
Although Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 didn't have the best reception at launch and reportedly had a rushed development cycle, it's still performed like no other game in the series before, setting all-new records. According to a
Monday20th Nov 2023
News Xbox Revenue Would Overtake PlayStation With ActiBlizz On Board, Says Data Firm
Looking at 2023 figures so far
Microsoft's huge Activision Blizzard deal has always been seen as a bit of a money-maker for the Xbox owner, especially with such valuable franchises in-play across Activision, Blizzard and indeed King. Series' such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush and World of Warcraft will bring in lots of additional revenue for Xbox,...
