You could not miss this subject which has been in the news for many months: Microsoft wants to buy Activision Blizzard King. By absorbing one of the largest publishers on the planet, the Seattle firm will take control of one of the most lucrative franchises on the planet, namely call of duty. However, this sales juggernaut has been published on Sony and Microsoft machines from the start. The fear of the Japanese company is that, beyond the current publishing contract between Sony and Activision, Microsoft decides to keep the rights to publications exclusive to its only machines, the Xbox and the PC.
This acquisition, for 69 billion dollars, is currently being scrutinized by the various competition authorities around the world. That of the United Kingdom has also decided that a second phase of investigation was necessary in view of the possibilities that the consumer will be harmed by the retention of games for the exclusive benefit of Microsoft, which would create a distortion of competition. Players would indeed be obliged to obtain an Xbox or a PC to play Call of Duty, two platforms benefiting Microsoft.
A few days ago, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer confirmed in a statement that he intends to continue publishing the game on PlayStation beyond the current contract. Jarod transcribed his words as follows:
“In January, we provided a signed agreement to Sony to secure Call of Duty on PlayStation, with feature and content parity, for at least several additional years beyond Sony’s current contract, an offer that goes well with the beyond typical gaming industry agreements”
According to comments transcribed on GamesIndustry.biz, for Jim Ryan, this promise is not enough:
“I had no intention of commenting on what I thought was a private matter, but I felt the need to put things straight as Phil Spencer brought the subject to the public. Microsoft only offered to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for three years after the current operating contract between Activision and Sony expires. After almost twenty years of the franchise’s release on PlayStation, their proposal seems to us to be inadequate in many respects and does not satisfy the consideration of the interests of our players. We want to ensure that PlayStation players can have the best Call of Duty experience possible, and Microsoft’s offering thwarts that commitment.”
According to the always well-informed Daniel Ahmad, Sony was also Activision Blizzard’s largest customer in 2020, with $ 1.37 billion in revenue generated by sales, or 17% of the publisher’s activity. Microsoft was on the same year as the fourth largest commercial partner of Activision Blizzard King, with 890 million dollars in turnover, or 11% of its activity, behind Google, Apple, and therefore Sony. We therefore understand that the interests of Sony and the historical publisher of Call of Duty are particularly linked.