Regulators from all over the world are still paying close attention to Microsoft’s acquisition plan for Activision Blizzard, and Activision’s representative “Calling Moment” series has also become the focus of many related discussions. As a competitor of Microsoft, Sony has always been opposed to this transaction, believing that it may lead to “Calling Hour” becoming an Xbox exclusive work. Considering the sales scale of this series, Sony believes that this may seriously affect the The fairness of market competition and the overall layout.
Regardless of whether you buy it or not, the distribution model of this series has become one of the key points of this transaction, and Phil Spencer and other Microsoft executives must continue to come forward to emphasize that “Decisive Moment” will still be the same following the completion of this acquisition. Will maintain the multi-platform distribution method, and even said that they will fire all employees who proposed to make Call of Duty exclusive on Xbox. Since then, many rumors have suggested that Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year contract, assuring them that the shooter series will continue to launch a PlayStation version. However, Sony has not responded to this. Last week, there was another news that Microsoft intends to sign a contract with Nintendo so that the “Decisive Moment” series can be launched on Nintendo Switch and other Nintendo platforms.
From this series of contracts, it is not difficult to see that Microsoft intends to assure all parties that they will continue to launch the “Decisive Moment” series on other platforms, but Microsoft is not only signing contracts with host publishers. In addition to Nintendo, they also simultaneously confirmed that they will sign a contract with Valve, the parent company behind the Steam platform, so that the “Decisive Moment” series can be on the Steam platform for a long time. : Black Ops 4 has been a Battle.net exclusive from the beginning, until this year’s “Decisive Moment: Modern Warfare II” and “Modern Battlefield 2.0” did not return to this platform. However, Valve President Gabe Newell said that they are not interested in such a contract because he believes in Microsoft.
“We’re pleased to hear that Microsoft is willing to continue using the Call of Duty series to reach more players on Steam following the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Microsoft games have been available on Steam for a while, and we see this as a A sign that they are satisfied with the response from players and what we are doing. Our responsibility is to continue to build valuable features for all Steam customers and partners, including Microsoft.” Gabe Newell said in a statement
While that seemed like a pretty boilerplate response, Newell went on to codify his thoughts in the most Valve-esque way possible, making it clear that he doesn’t view the success of the Call of Duty series as a problem.
“Microsoft approached us and even sent us a draft of a long-term deal related to the Call of Duty series. But it really wasn’t necessary for us because, for one, we didn’t believe we had to sign any partners. The relevant contract will allow them to continue to put the game on the Steam platform in the near future. Second, Phil Spencer and Microsoft’s game team will always abide by what they have promised verbally, and we are willing to believe their intentions. Third, we believe that Microsoft has every incentive to bring the Call of Duty franchise to every platform and device that appeals to consumers.”
This is undoubtedly a big blow to Sony’s legal team who want to convince all walks of life that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will make “Call of Duty” an Xbox exclusive and affect market competition. And this answer is also in line with Valve’s long-standing style, that is, it adopts an attitude towards games on the PC, and at the same time, it is unwilling to make a fuss regarding the direction of future sailing. Of course, Gabe Newell’s trust in Microsoft may also originate from his past experience with this company. He participated in the development of the first generation of Windows systems in the 1980s and did not establish Valve until 1996.
