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Sony told the UK antitrust regulator that it fears that if Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard, Call of Duty players will switch to Xbox, despite the series’ lack of exclusivity. It causes? The benefits they can get in terms of content.
In essence, Sony fears that Microsoft will do with Call of Duty what it has done in recent years, which is to offer players bonuses that will make the game more attractive on its platforms, such as the early availability of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II beta on PS4 and PS5. The difference is that in this case Microsoft will do it as the owner of a franchise, while Sony has had to enter into agreements with Activision Blizzard for certain privileges, as did Microsoft itself in the Xbox 360 era.
In short, Microsoft’s assurances to maintain the Call of Duty multi-platform franchise were not enough for Sony, which fears the revocation of the privileges received over the years, as reported to the British Competition Authority (CMA) in a long document:
SIE told CMA that although CoD games will remain available on PlayStation after the acquisition, the resulting company will still be able to make a partial divestment of the franchise, increasing the differences between CoD versions available on Xbox and PlayStation. According to SIE, gamers expect more content and better compatibility with console hardware from CoD on Xbox, as well as benefits for XGP (Xbox Game Pass) members. SIE said these factors can influence player choices when buying a console.
Bottom line: Sony fears Microsoft will do with Call of Duty what it has done in recent years.
