Day: 29 November 2022

Microsoft expected to concede to Sony over Call Of Duty and Activision Blizzard buyout News Briefing

Microsoft expected to concede to Sony over Call Of Duty and Activision Blizzard buyout

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Call of Duty is staying multiformat for a long time (pic: Activision)

The Activision Blizzard acquisition has just got more likely, as another country okays the deal and EU demands concessions from Microsoft.

Big companies are always used to getting what they want, and they don’t come much bigger than Microsoft, so it always seemed a given that they’d be allowed to buy Activision Blizzard, despite monopoly investigators in the Europe and the US being more critical of the deal than expected.

The EU is expected to demand a number of concessions from Microsoft, before they’ll okay the acquisition, but Microsoft is reportedly attempting to beat them to the punch.

A new report suggests that Microsoft will make a formal commitment to Call Of Duty staying on PlayStation for the next 10 years, before the EU makes its list of demands in January.

Microsoft already made an informal offer to Sony, to guarantee that Call Of Duty would remain multiformat for 10 years, but it’s believed the new commitment would be legally binding.

Previously, Microsoft’s comments about Call Of Duty have all been very vague, with its initial promise of ‘several’ years seeming to only guarantee three.

The suggestion that they’ll formalise the 10-year offer comes from a new Reuters article, which implies that Microsoft may also make other minor concessions, to appease regulatory boards around the world.

‘Ultimately, such a move could secure an early clearance with the European Commission and subsequently be used by the parties before other antitrust agencies,’ claims Stephane Dionnet from law firm McDermott Will & Emery.

It’s not just the EU and UK which are dubious about the deal, as US regulators have also been surprisingly sceptic, with a recent report suggesting that the FTC could attempt to block the entire acquisition.

So far, the only countries to okay the buyout are Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia. The latter made their announcement this week and, like the other two countries, demanded no concessions from Microsoft.

Although usually the only reason a console manufacturer buys another publisher, and its games, is to make them exclusive but Microsoft has repeatedly stated that this is not its plan with Activision Blizzard – even though all new Bethesda games are currently scheduled only for Xbox and PC.

While being exclusive would make the Xbox brand more desirable, Microsoft would essentially be cutting off half, or more, of the game’s existing audience. For similar reasons Sony says it intends to keep Destiny 2 and future Bungie games multiformat.

Even the status of Call Of Duty on Game Pass is unclear, as while Microsoft has acknowledged the franchise will come to the service at some points, it claims it will be restricted at first – possibly to only older entries.

Will the deal ever go through? (pic: Microsoft)

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MORE : US government to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition claims report

MORE : Microsoft downplays cloud gaming as ‘immature technology’ in Activision buyout investigation

MORE : Microsoft Activision deal receives approval in Brazil – UK and US still to decide

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