For many months, Microsoft has been wrestling with antitrust authorities around the world to get approval for its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, known for Call of Duty and the Warcraft universe, among others. After an unsuccessful lawsuit by the American FTC, only the UK’s competition authority was still opposed to the takeover. Following tough negotiations, it dropped its blockade last week and approved the acquisition of the game publisher.

Among gamers, the news was received very well—at least in my circle. On one hand, there’s the hope that the acquisition will soon bring Activision Blizzard’s game portfolio to Microsoft’s game subscription and streaming service, Xbox Game Pass. On the other hand, the quality of the games, especially from Blizzard’s development studios, has steadily declined in recent years. At the same time, monetization through additional microtransactions has been massively expanded. Additionally, the publisher has faced massive allegations in recent years regarding sexual harassment and its tolerance.

The resignation of the previous CEO, Bobby Kotick, appears as the first glimmer of hope. He had been the CEO of Activision since 1991, then of Activision Blizzard, and does not enjoy a high reputation among players. This is due not only to his questionable handling of recent scandals but also to his business-oriented leadership style. Bobby Kotick didn’t become CEO as a gamer or game developer; he studied art history. Nevertheless, he co-founded a software company while still in college. But he is not a classic game developer who founded his own studio out of a love for games, but rather an entrepreneur.

One might criticize this, but it made Activision Blizzard one of the largest and most successful game publishers in the world. At what cost, especially morally and artistically, is another matter. This brings us back to the acquisition by Microsoft. Gamers hope that with the acquisition and Kotick’s resignation, the company will shift its focus from profit maximization to developing good games. To be honest, I’m skeptical. Microsoft is also a company that wants to make a profit. And the Activision part has been run with a corporate culture shaped by Kotick for over 30 years; apart from a few exceptions, there was never a classic “game developers fulfilling their dreams” story here. At Blizzard, things actually look different. But who of the original staff is still with the company? Who is still in the right positions?

Time will tell, and I’m looking forward to having the Activision Blizzard games on Game Pass. But I consider a significant improvement in product strategy in the near and medium term to be unlikely. The company is too large and too sluggish to simply break up the existing structures in a few months.