A few weeks ago, the tone began to rise between Microsoft (Xbox) and Sony (PlayStation) around some disagreements on the strategy of the two parties. On the one hand, Jim Ryan, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment criticized Microsoft for offering an “unstoppable” offer with the Game Pass that was difficult to counter. PlayStation thus opposed the takeover of Activision/Blizzard, claiming that this transaction was a danger for the video game industry and that it would create a market monopoly.
On the other hand, Phil Spender, the boss of Xbox defended himself, criticizing PlayStation for its desire to remain market leader, with great difficulty in adapting to the new market with a PlayStation Plus which might be as competitive as the Gamepass. Worse still, Microsoft accused Sony of using an unfair technique by paying agreements to prevent games from third-party publishers from arriving in the Game Pass. Finally, Phil Spencer assured that the acquisition of Activision / Blizzard was not going to change anything for the video game industry, making us believe that ultimately, Activision is not such a big company.
Today, the conflict escalates with the response of Jim Ryan who wishes to clarify things.
Xbox vs PlayStation : acte II
© Presse-citron.net / Phil Spencer, patron Xbox
In a statement made in the lines of Games Industry, Jim Ryan is stepping up to respond to recent remarks by Phil Spencer. The CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment wishes to come back precisely to beautiful words from Phil Spencer which do not seem so pretty in reality.
This necessarily concerns the future of the Call of Duty license on PlayStation. Phil Spencer said he reassured Jim Ryan at the beginning of 2022 assuring him that the legendary Activision series would remain on Sony consoles even following the current agreement. Obviously, this is no longer the case, and Jim Ryan wants to know.
He declares thus: “I didn’t intend to comment on what I thought was a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer introduced it to the public. Microsoft has suggested that the Call of Duty license stay on PlayStation for only three more years following the current deal between Activision and Sony ends. After nearly 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to consider the impact on our players. We want to ensure that PlayStation players continue to have the highest quality experience for Call of Duty, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines that principle.”.
This new statement will therefore undoubtedly add fuel to the fire. Jim Ryan clarifies things and shows that Phil Spencer may have embellished the situation and that three more years is not a serious offer (knowing that from 2023, the Call of Duty license will no longer be annual). This actually represents a single additional opus on PS5.
For the moment, the acquisition of Activision / Blizzard is still not accepted. Many regulatory bodies are strengthening their investigations around the takeover to validate or not the transaction. Over the past few hours, Amazon has rallied behind Sony and Jim Ryan confirming that an Activision/Blizzard takeover with an exclusive Call of Duty series might create an Xbox monopoly in the video game industry.
