Call of Duty in the Xbox Game Pass: Sony would have prevented the arrival of the games according to Microsoft

News Call of Duty game in the Xbox Game Pass: Sony would have prevented the arrival of the games according to Microsoft

Published on 10/19/2022 at 11:54

The duel between Microsoft and Sony in the context of the takeover of Activision-Blizzard has not finished spilling ink: today, the American giant accuses its Japanese competitor of having prevented the Call of Duty saga from landing in Xbox Game Pass.

Source COD

Definitely, we have here a case that should still be in the news for many months. If Microsoft announced at the beginning of the year that it wanted to buy Activision-Blizzard, the acquisition will only be validated when the various governments have studied the file and given their green light.so as to avoid the possibility of monopoly and unfair competition.

Two elements that point the finger Sony, which absolutely does not want, for example, the Call of Duty saga to become exclusive or to be in the Xbox Game Pass. And for good reason: CoDs are among the best-selling games on PS4 and PS5!

While several states have already approved the takeover, this is not yet the case for many countries, including the United Kingdom. The CMA (the regulatory body that deals with this type of case) is also proving difficult to convince, which is why Microsoft is splitting various arguments to grant itself favors: a document provided by the Redmond firm thus affirms that Sony would have made a deal with Activision to prevent the arrival of Call of Duty in the Xbox Game Pass… for years.

The sprinkler watered?

This mysterious agreement pointed out by Microsoft could thus turn against Sony: by preventing Call of Duty from being integrated into the Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft claims that the Japanese giant is using unfair competition, the very one that PlayStation fears if there is an Activision-Blizzard takeover. An argument that could well convince the CMA to approve the acquisition, according to Microsoft.

If the takeover of the publisher therefore takes place, the contract signed between the latter and Sony would therefore prevent Call of Duty games from arriving in the Game Pass for several years. This could therefore explain the declaration of Phil Spencer (the boss of Xbox, as a reminder) at the start of the year, who admitted to having “the intention of honoring all the existing agreements during the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard” and “the desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation”.

In short, the sequel to the next episode.