Software giant yielded to US trade commission’s gamer impact concerns amid Activision Blizzard acquisition.
After Microsoft’s $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the tech company assures Sony and the FTC by signing a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation.
Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming’s CEO, tweeted: “Excited to share that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to maintain Call of Duty on PlayStation after acquiring Activision Blizzard. We envision a future with greater gaming choices for players worldwide.”
In the US, the FTC contended that the acquisition might harm consumers, regardless of whether they played console games or had subscriptions. They feared Microsoft would have a motive to exclude competitors like Sony Group.
On June 11, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled: “The FTC has not demonstrated a strong likelihood of success in their claim that the merged company would likely remove Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation or significantly reduce competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets due to its ownership of Activision content.”
To address the FTC’s concerns, Microsoft had committed to licensing Call of Duty to competitors, including a 10-year agreement with Nintendo, pending the completion of the merger.
On Sunday, Microsoft did not reveal the duration of the agreement with Sony.
In a tweet, Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, stated, “Since the beginning of this acquisition, our commitment has been to address the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers. Even after the deal’s approval, our focus remains on ensuring Call of Duty’s availability on a broader range of platforms and for more consumers than ever.”
Microsoft has until July 18 to finalize the transaction with Activision Blizzard, but both companies have the option to extend that deadline.
In May, EU regulators approved the takeover deal, which sparked immediate protests from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), leading to the deal’s blockage in April. However, the CMA expressed its willingness to negotiate with Microsoft over the deal on June 11.
