Diablo 4 Is Getting Advertised In Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

In a new marketing ploy, Activision Blizzard has started putting up advertisements for Diablo 4 in its most popular game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. As seen in the tweet below, an ad for the brand-new RPG from Blizzard appears in the “Message Of The Day” section after you open the game. Hence, the sister companies are utilizing all of their resources to market the role-playing game.

https://twitter.com/ModernWarzone/status/1666206326198788147?s=20

As visible above, the Diablo 4 advertisement in Modern Warfare 2 congratulates Blizzard on the game’s anticipated launch. The title’s popular “Welcome To Hell” tagline informs the fans that they can now play the “Ultimate action RPG.” In addition, it highlights the nightmarish dungeons, legendary loot, and brutal PVP users will encounter and urges the Call of Duty players to begin the fight for the fate of Sanctuary today.

Such marketing strategies aren’t uncommon in the gaming industry for major AAA developers. And, even though Activision Blizzard are different companies, they do exist as the same entity. Since last year, both of these big-time publishers have been a constant in gaming news due to their acquisition by Microsoft. Even though the merger hasn’t gone through yet, many thought Diablo 4 would hit the Game Pass on launch.

However, Rod Ferguson, the General Manager of Diablo, confirmed that the game would not be a day-one release on the PC and Xbox Game Pass. The Activision Blizzard executive announced via a tweet that the upcoming RPG will not launch on any version of the subscription, saying the company has “no plans” for that. Therefore, Xbox and PC users will need to buy Diablo 4 just like PlayStation fans as Ferguson informed before:

It's awesome seeing the excitement around the Diablo IV Beta, and our Wolf Pack puppy! We’ve been getting some questions about D4 on Game Pass and I want to let you know we have no plans for that. See you in Sanctuary during the Beta Early Access weekend starting on March 17!

— Rod Fergusson (@RodFergusson) March 13, 2023

In other news, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been making headlines for over a year now. Still, no one is sure if the merger will go through after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal. For sure, Microsoft has agreed to deals with Nintendo and Nvidia concerning Call of Duty. But regulators, and Sony, are not sure these remedies are not enough.

Even though the EU has approved the deal now, it still has many roadblocks in its path. PlayStation’s CEO Jim Ryan confirmed the company was trying to block the deal and is convincing regulators to force Microsoft to sell Call of Duty. And, when you consider how Microsoft will gain assets like Diablo 4 and gaming’s biggest franchise, it doesn’t sound unfair.

When you add how more people choose PlayStation for Call of Duty than for exclusives, Sony’s willingness to not attend calls or agree to 10-year deals makes sense. Arguably, services like the PS Plus or the Xbox Game Pass would undergo the most change through the acquisition. Even though, Microsoft has said that it will allow Sony to put Call of Duty on PS Plus, it confirmed previously that doing so for any service will cannibalize sales. 

Therefore, there has been a lot of speculation about whether Microsoft will put new Activision Blizzard titles on the Game Pass on day one. Diablo 4 not launching on the service makes sense as the deal hasn’t got official approval as of now. But, no one has any idea when this will happen with Sony alleging that the American company will sabotage its Call of Duty promise.

Microsoft also insists the price of Game Pass will not increase post-merger, making it an amazing package with first-party Activision Blizzard titles coming out on day one if the merger gets approval. But, for now, you will have to purchase Diablo 4 on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox One if you want to enjoy the hellish RPG.