Xbox Boss "More Confident" Now in Activision Blizzard Deal

Microsoft's big acquisition of Activision Blizzard is a deal which Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he's "more confident "in now compared to around a year ago. These comments come amid conversations with regulatory boards and other bodies that have been looking into the deal to see if it was too big of an acquisition to go through as it was presented. Spencer gave no firm indication of when he feels the deal might go through (assuming it does) but did remind us of the timeframe Microsoft established previously as well as where we are now in that timeframe.

Spencer spoke to IGN about this topic and others following Wednesday's first-of-its-kind Xbox showcase which brought us release dates and shadow drops. He said that based on the info he has available to him now as well as current discussions about the matter, he's more confident in the situation. He added that we're 12 months into an 18-month timeframe, so Microsoft has around six months to close the deal if it wants to stay within its projected window.

"When we announced a year ago, we talked about an 18-month timeframe," Spencer said. "We're 12 months into that. I think we continue to stay focused on getting the deal closed. I think we can do some amazing things together with the teams at Activision-Blizzard-King on the mobile side, and collaborating them with new creative and new ways to deliver their content. And us learning a lot from the work that those teams do in mobile, which is a space that we just don't have a lot of expertise as Xbox, but also is the largest gaming platform in the world."

Spencer also acknowledged the numerous involvements from different regulators by saying that conversations were going and that his "confidence remains high."

"We're actively working with the regulatory boards around the world that need to approve for this, and it's been a learning experience for me," he said. "A lot of time spent, a lot of travel, a lot of conversations, but they're conversations where I get to talk about our industry and the work that we do and why we do it. I think the more regulators are informed about what gaming is, how the business runs, who the players are, and what our aspiration is as Team Xbox is just a good thing for the industry itself."