A return to Steam forActivisioncouldn’t be any more official. With the upcomingOctober release forCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2signaling the game industry giant embracing Valve’s video game marketplace once again, it makes sense that Activision would at last create a formal publisher page for all its games on Steam to set the stage forModern Warfare 2’slaunch.
With the exception ofSekiro: Shadows Die Twicein 2019, Activision’s major game releases for the past five years such asCall of Duty: Warzonewere all exclusively hosted on the Battle.net platform, while games from theTony Hawkfranchise found their home solely on the Epic Games Store. Though Activision never truly left Steam in the first place, from a casual consumer’s point of view, its decision to return feels mostly symbolic at first glance, but in truth it implies more than meets the eye.
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Becoming an official publisher on Steam not only represents Activision’s interest in interacting with the Steam marketplace in a deeper capacity, but it also allows its games to be subject to Steam’s publisher sales. Players might finally get that oneCall of Dutygamethey missed from a generation ago at an amazing price, and that’s certainly a net-positive for the average consumer.
With the decision to have an official presence on Steam, it’s prudent to assume that any future Activision releases will find their way on Steam as well, but it also calls people to consider another angle: the possibility of Activision retroactively releasing previous Battle.net and Epic Store exclusives on Steam such asCrash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. On the other hand, a popularbattle royale likeCall of Duty: Warzonewould no doubt expand its audience with Steam users squeamish about using other platforms to play their games on PC.
The other long-term possibility of this decision depends on Microsoft’s plans for the company following theActivision Blizzard acquisition, an industry-changing deal that was announced in January this year. Namely, given the fact that Microsoft’s flagship titles such asHalo Infiniteare available on Steam, there exists a possibility that players will find Blizzard’s games on Steam in the future as well.
PlayingWorld of WarcraftorDiablothrough one’s Steam account might have seemed outlandish just a few years ago, but recent actions undertaken by Activision in light of the acquisition show that Microsoft might not be as married into the idea of game exclusivity on Battle.net as Activision Blizzard was in the past.
