The wrangling over Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues, and Microsoft is increasingly going on the offensive to push the deal through antitrust authorities.
After some of the international antitrust authorities went into the second scrutiny and are still not quite willing to wave Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard through, Phil Spencer and Microsoft are increasingly going on the offensive.
Above all, the possibility of making the giant brand Call of Duty platform-exclusive apparently causes concerns among the authorities. Sony in particular is going strong and the company does not miss any opportunity to dish out the deal. Microsoft has offered a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles, but Sony has so far refused to agree to it, instead claiming in public statements that the acquisition would reduce player choice . Sounds a bit bizarre, but well…
Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s Xbox boss, has now confirmed further options via Twitter. Microsoft has made a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo consoles following the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. He also confirms that Call of Duty will continue to be released on Steam alongside Xbox.
Microsoft has entered into a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to @Nintendo following the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King. Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people – however they choose to play. @ATVI_AB
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) December 7, 2022
“I think it’s important at this time that two key industry partners show that our intentions are real and that we can make deals,” Spencer said in a parallel interview with the New York Times, with an apt dig towards Sony Playstation. Valve/Steam’s Gabe Newell expressed his delight at the MOU. Sony refused to comment on this.
The opponents of the takeover are slowly but surely running out of arguments, quite apart from the fact that it would be quite nonsensical for Microsoft not to sell such a large brand on several platforms. Presumably at the right time, because the signs at the US antitrust authority FTC are currently on a tie with a tendency towards approval, the decisions of the EU Commission and the British antitrust authorities are still pending as long as the second investigation is ongoing.
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