Xbox Game Studios (Microsoft)

Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Game Studios) is a division of Microsoft responsible for developing and publishing video games.

It is made up of five development and publishing companies: Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks, Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King.

In 2023, Microsoft became one of the largest gaming companies by employment and the third largest by revenue.

The division owns IP for some of the best-selling and most popular franchises of all time, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Halo, Minecraft, and The Elder Scrolls.

Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in 2023 at a cost of $75.4 billion, making Microsoft the third-largest publisher of video games after Tencent and Sony Interactive Entertainment. 

A new console said to play both Xbox and PC Games was announced in March 2026, codenamed Project Helix, which will be the next generation Xbox console.