Microsoft, in an effort to minimize the possible ramifications of its attempted acquisition of Activision from various international regulators, argues that the Call of Duty the publisher he spends billions on doesn’t actually produce any games that could be considered “must have”. Meanwhile, Sony pushes back and explains that Call of Duty games are “essential” and even influence some people’s console buying decisions.
Since Microsoft announced its intention to buy Activision Blizzard In January of this year, the company spent months bouncing around the world, arguing with lawmakers and regulatory groups in a bid to show why this deal is all right and not bad for the industry. . One way the Xbox company does this is to argue that Activision Blizzard doesn’t release games so big and unique that the acquisition would stifle competition with other game companies, stores, or console makers.
You can find an example of this tactic in a report from the New Zealand Commerce Commission published in June. In the document, Microsoft claimed there was “nothing unique about the video games developed and published” by Activision – a company it spends nearly $70 billion on – further adding that none of the games including military shooter franchise Call of Dutyare “must have” games for any rival game company or distributor.
Read more: Everything that happened in the Activision Blizzard lawsuit
As you’d expect, not everyone agrees with Microsoft’s assertion that owning one of the biggest video game franchises in the world won’t give Xbox any edge over its competitors. Specifically, Sony has pushed back on the proposed Xbox/Activision deal in new legal documents from Brazil.
As reported by VGC and ResetEra users, Sony’s responses to questions from the Brazilian government on the Microsoft/Activision deal have been posted online and it shows that the PlayStation company thinks Call of Duty is an “essential” AAA game, which could help sell more consoles for whoever controls it.
According to a 2019 study, “The importance of Call of Duty to entertainment, in general, is indescribable. The brand was the only video game IP to enter the top 10 of all entertainment brands among fans, joining powerhouses such as Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.
Call of Duty is so popular that it influences users’ choice of console, and its community of loyal users is deep enough that even if a competitor had the budget to develop a similar product, they could not compete with it.
Neither Microsoft’s response nor Sony’s denial should come as a surprise. When buying a company as large as Activision, it makes sense to downplay the actual size or influence of the company when talking to regulators or government officials, as these people could cause head to Xbox or even stop the transaction entirely.
And of course Sony doesn’t want to lose Call of Duty, a game that consistently tops the top selling games on the PlayStation charts every year. Of course, Microsoft reported that Call of Duty will remain a cross-platform franchise, but contractually it is reported that after three games, Call of Duty could leave PlayStation and become a console exclusive for Xbox. So it makes sense that Sony is trying to show how important the long-running FPS series is to PlayStation and the gaming industry.
While other regulatory groups and other governments continue or start push and push the Activision Blizzard dealit’s likely we’ll continue to see Microsoft downplay the size and scope of the business while Xbox’s competitors do the exact opposite in an attempt to stop what could be one of the biggest examples of video game consolidation. that we have seen so far.