Sony accused Microsoft of lying to EU regulators about the Activision deal

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Microsoft’s Frank X. Shaw claims that Sony recently lied to European Union (EU) regulators about its progress in acquiring Activision Blizzard.
Specifically, Shaw said that Sony has told the European Union that the PlayStation maker is unwilling to equalize with Call of Duty, despite Microsoft offering a 10-year deal.
Microsoft continues to insist that it wants to bring games to more people, not fewer, and making Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox “would defy business logic.”

As Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues to face scrutiny from regulators, the company has claimed that Sony – the producer of PlayStation and one of the biggest rivals to the deal – lied about its plans in a recent call to the European Union (EU). responsibilities. While Microsoft has publicly committed to keeping the popular first-person shooter franchise on PlayStation once the merger is closed, the firm says Sony officials in Brussels are advising otherwise. This news comes The EU reportedly plans to serve an antitrust warning to Microsoft About the contract

“I heard Sony briefing people in Brussels claiming that Microsoft isn’t willing to give them parity for Call of Duty if we acquire Activision. That couldn’t be further from the truth.” wrote Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of communications. “We’ve made it clear that we’ve offered Sony a 10-year deal to equalize time, content, features, quality, playability and any other aspect of the game. We’ve also said we’re happy to do that through a contract, regulatory agreement, or other means. applicable.”

Call of Duty, a series that is often home to countless players and millions of dollars in sales, is undoubtedly one of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world. Initially, Microsoft offered Sony terms to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for three years after the completion of its Activision Blizzard acquisition, which CEO Jim Ryan said “not enough”. In a statement. It follows that, Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year deal, is said to have met with the two companies to discuss specific details. The full outcome of these negotiations remains unknown, but based on Shaw’s public statements, it appears that an agreement was not reached.

We have made it clear that we have offered Sony a 10-year contract so that they can match their timing, content, features, quality, playability and any other aspect of the game. We have also said that we are happy to make it enforceable through a contract, regulatory agreement or other means. 2/4January 28, 2023

Microsoft has repeatedly insisted that exclusive Call of Duty on its Xbox consoles would not be in line with its plans, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer rating that Microsoft is acquiring Activision Blizzard primarily for its dominant mobile gaming position and that the firm “wants to be where the players are, especially with franchises the size of Minecraft and Call of Duty.” In an op-ed, Microsoft President Brad Smith also wrote That Call of Duty would be monopolized is “economically unreasonable,” as “a significant portion of Activision Blizzard’s ‘Call of Duty’ revenue comes from PlayStation game sales.” Shaw reiterated these arguments in his own commentary.

“Sony is the console market leader and it would defy business logic for us to exclude PlayStation gamers from the Call of Duty ecosystem,” Shaw said. “Our goal is to bring Call of Duty and other games – as we did with Minecraft – to more people around the world so they can play where and how they want.”

Regulators are expected to make a final decision on the merger in the spring, with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) planning to share a preliminary decision in late January or February. The EU and CMA will deliver their verdicts on April 11 and April 26 respectively.

Notably, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has already filed a lawsuit to block the deal, citing upcoming Xbox and Windows PC exclusive games like Starfield and Redfall recently acquired by Zenimax as examples of why the company can’t be trusted. (Microsoft has never committed to making these games multiplatform). Earlier this week, A report suggests that the FTC has timed its case to manipulate the E.U And discourage the regulator from making a settlement with Microsoft over its concerns about the deal.

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Between the FTC’s timing of its case against the merger for manipulating the EU to avoid a settlement with Microsoft by outright lying about Microsoft’s planned commitments, it’s hard not to laugh at how ridiculous things have gotten. Assuming Shaw’s statement is true, Sony’s approach to opposing the merger reaches a new level of bad faith. It reminds me of when the company Microsoft has reportedly raised the price of its Xbox after Activision bought BlizzardAfter only a few months The cost of own PS5 systems has increased.

Admittedly, it’s possible that Microsoft itself isn’t being honest here. However, unlike Sony, it has proven that it is Actually willing to come to the table, the company has said publicly several times that it is happy to work with regulators and negotiate with competitors. Notably, even Microsoft Steam and Nintendo enter into 10-year commitment to keep Call of Duty on Switch, is looking to bring Activision’s premier shooter to platforms other than its own. Because of this, and because of Sony’s behavior, I’m strongly inclined to believe Shaw’s claim.

At the end of the day, it’s become increasingly clear that Sony is willing to say or do whatever it takes to block Microsoft’s acquisition, and that now includes blatantly lying to regulators. So, I ask this: Who? really Trying to suppress the competition?