The purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft continues to be shrouded in controversy and as the transaction is scrutinized by the many regulatory bodies around the world, Sony It has also stood out in this whole situation due to the statements that its representatives have issued about what this acquisition could represent for the industry.
However, a serious accusation has arisen as a result of this. A manager of Microsoft has stated that Sony recently lied to European Union about his plans for Call of Duty, one of the most important franchises in this market and the “apple of contention” of the transaction. Despite the fact that the firm promised on several occasions to keep the next titles in the saga on consoles PlayStationSony would have been suggesting the opposite to the regulators of Brussels.
A serious accusation against Sony
According to what you indicated Frank X. ShawCorporate Vice President of Communications Microsoft, Sony would have lied to the regulators European Union about the fate of Call of Duty in case of purchase Activision Blizzard will come to fruition. “I have heard that Sony is informing people in Brussels that Microsoft is not willing to offer them parity for Call of Duty if we acquire Activision. Nothing is further from reality”said the executive.
“We have been clear in offering Sony a 10-year agreement to offer them parity in terms of terms, content, features, quality, gameplay and every other aspect of the game. We have also said that we are willing to make this happen through contract, regulatory agreements or other means.”sentenced Shaw in his publication of Twitter.
The future of the Microsoft – Activision Blizzard deal remains gray
Due to the multimillion-dollar profits generated by video games of Call of Duty, Sony It has been concerned about the possibility of these titles becoming exclusive to Xbox consoles after the transaction is completed. Nevertheless, Phil Spencer -head of Microsoft’s video game division- offered the firm a 10-year agreement to keep the release of these works on consoles PlayStation.
On repeated occasions, Microsoft executives have indicated that it is not part of their plans to convert Call of Duty on a console exclusive Xbox. Brad Smiththe president of Microsoft, also mentioned that this would be “economically unreasonable”, since “a vital part of the income of Activision Blizzard for ‘Call of Duty’ comes from the sales of games of PlayStation”.
“Sony is the console market leader and it would defy business logic for us to exclude gamers from PlayStation of the ecosystem of ‘Call of Duty‘. Our goal is to bring Call of Duty and other games – as we did with Minecraft– to more people around the world so they can play them wherever and however they want”mentioned Shaw in his statement for Twitter.
Regulatory bodies are expected to European Union and the United Kingdom, the only ones that have not yet issued a verdict, present their final decision in a few months. In the case of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the date would be April 11 and for the European Union on April 26. For her part, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) it has already filed a lawsuit to block the deal.
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