This Tuesday, Microsoft announced the acquisition of the video game giant Activision-Blizzard-King for almost 70 billion dollars. Although this acquisition has yet to be validated by regulators, it promises to be a real thunderbolt on the gaming. A thunderclap whose repercussions could be particularly important for certain players in the market, such as Sony and its PlayStation division – especially with regard to the license call of duty, published by Activision. The famous shooter, as popular on Microsoft’s Xbox consoles as on PlayStation, will indeed enter the hands of the Redmond giant… leaving doubts as to its availability on Sony platforms in the future. .
This January 20, two days after the announcement of the takeover of Activision, Phil Spencer, emblematic boss of the Xbox branch, nevertheless hinted that a future was possible for call of duty on Playstation. A hand extended to Sony, but also a sign of goodwill towards the antitrust authorities who will have to decide, by 2023, whether or not Microsoft’s huge dragnet will place it in a monopoly situation. Recall that the firm had already acquired the American publisher ZeniMax Media at the start of 2021.
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The not entirely disinterested leniency of Microsoft
In a tweet, Phil Spencer said he had a constructive telephone exchange with Sony executives. “I have confirmed our intention to honor all existing agreements upon the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to maintain Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry and our relationships are valuable to us.“, he indicated.
Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.
—Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022
As reminded The Verge, Microsoft has nevertheless got into the habit of licensing its recent acquisitions as franchises exclusive to its ecosystem. A good way to enrich the catalog of its Game Pass subscription, in particular. We know, for example, that Starfield, the next title from Bethesda Softworks, will be an Xbox/PC exclusive, and that The Elder Scrolls VI should follow the same path. However, in the past, Microsoft has also been able to give the competition a good bone to chew on. We think first of all of Minecraft, creation of the Swedish studio Mojang, bought by Microsoft in 2014 for 2.5 billion dollars. Despite this acquisition, the title remained available on PlayStation and was even able to make its way to Nintendo Switch.
A policy of openness that Microsoft seems ready to replicate with call of duty. “Similar to Microsoft’s acquisition of Minecraft, we have no intention of removing any content from the platforms where it exists today.”, assured the firm in a FAQ published earlier this week.