The dispute over the future of a Microsoft-owned Call of Duty has a bit of a mano a mano Shining as a recent comment from Xbox boss Phil Spencer has led PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan to “set the record straight”.
One of the major sticking points in Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard is the Call of Duty series, one of the biggest games in the world. It’s been multi-platform since its inception (the original 2004 release even had an N-Gage version developed by Nokia), and in recent years – at least as far back as 2018 (opens in new tab)-PlayStation owners have really had an edge over the rest of us when it comes to getting (opens in new tab)early access beta testing for COD. But Sony has expressed understandable concerns that Microsoft could make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox if it gains control of the series.
Microsoft has repeatedly dismissed those concerns (opens in new tab)most recently in a statement to The Verge (opens in new tab) in which Spencer said Microsoft sent a formal offer to Sony in January “to guarantee Call of Duty on PlayStation, with parity of features and content, for at least several more years beyond the current Sony contract.” The offerings went “way beyond the typical gaming industry similarities,” Spencer said at the time.
That sounds reasonable enough, but Spencer’s counterpart had some harsh words for the details of Microsoft’s proposal, and he was clearly not happy that Spencer was airing their laundry publicly, too.
“I wasn’t going to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set it straight because Phil Spencer brought this up on the public forum,” Ryan told GamesIndustry. (opens in new tab).
“Microsoft has only offered Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony expires. After nearly 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and did not take into account the impact to our gamers. We want to ensure that PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”
“Inadequate on many levels” is about as damning as corporate speech can get in the gaming industry, especially words intended for public consumption, but what stands out most is the timing. GamesIndustry is a UK-based publication and Ryan’s comment comes less than a week after the UK Competition and Markets Authority recommended an in-depth investigation (opens in new tab) Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The CMA noted Call of Duty several times in the summary of the initial investigation (opens in new tab)saying the investigation “pointed to” [Activision Blizzard’s] content, especially Call of Duty, as important and capable of making a substantial difference to the success of rivals’ gaming platforms.”
“The CMA believes that the Merger could enable Microsoft to [Activision Blizzard] content, including Call of Duty, exclusive to Xbox or Game Pass, or its rivals’ access to [Activision Blizzard] content, such as delaying releases or imposing license price increases,” the executive summary reads.
“PlayStation currently holds a larger share of the console gaming market than Xbox, but the CMA believes Call of Duty is important enough that losing access to the game (or losing access on competitive terms) could have a significant impact. impact on Sony’s revenue and user base is likely to be felt especially with the launch of the next generation of consoles, where gamers are making new decisions about which console to buy.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard were given five business days to submit proposals to address the CMA’s concerns, and that window hasn’t closed yet, so approval may be given without the follow-up investigation — and even if it goes through, there won’t be any. guarantee that the takeover will not be approved in any case.
In the meantime, however, Sony seems inclined to make it all as tricky as possible for Microsoft, probably not to derail the process, but simply to get a better deal from Microsoft – which in turn could mitigate the CMAs. concerns about the likelihood of Call of Duty’s future exclusivity. Just business, in other words, despite the outward personal appearance of the dispute – and hopefully Jim and Phil can get together for some friendly beers and burgers when it’s all over.
The future of Call of Duty on PC, just to be clear, all expectations will remain intact and unaffected by this activity as Microsoft continues to see Xbox and PC practically as an extension of each other (opens in new tab)satisfying.
0 Comments