Corporation representatives Microsoft stated that prior to the start of the acquisition process of the publishing house Activision Blizzard had no idea regarding the franchise Call of Duty. They just knew she existed.
As it turned out from documents published by the US Trade Commission (FTC), the American giant claims to be completely unaware of the famous shooter series, its history, cultural influence and production processes.
It is clarified that before the decision to buy Activision Blizzard, Microsoft did not make serious bets on Call of Duty and did not know how valuable this series really is.. The corporation also had no idea when the first part of the franchise was released, how often new releases were released, how many studios were working on them and what resources.
For context, let’s explain that such a prospect of Microsoft is one of the arguments of the corporation in its defense once morest the US Trade Commission (FTC), which is trying to block the deal with Activision Blizzard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72GP1PIZa0
Recall that it was the fate of Call of Duty that became a stumbling block for antitrust authorities in the UK, US and EU. Taking into account Sony’s concerns, they concluded that in the future the series might become exclusive to the Microsoft gaming ecosystem and leave the PlayStation.
At the same time, Microsoft management has already managed to assure direct competitors that Call of Duty will continue to be released on their platforms.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer also claimsthat his company in the matter of buying Activision Blizzard was always interested primarily in the mobile business of the publisher, and she didn’t even think regarding the exclusivity of Call of Duty.
