11/5/2023 0 Comments Microsoft minesweeper ads![]() With Sony's acquiescence and the FTC case losing significant steam, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority stands as the only significant barrier left to Microsoft and Activision finally completing their merger. I just want to block your merger." Ryan later confirmed in court testimony that he had told Activision CEO Bobby Kotick that he "thought the transaction was anti-competitive," and that he "hoped that the regulators would do their job and block it." In a private January 2022 email revealed at the FTC trial, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan said, "I’m pretty sure we will continue to see CoD on PlayStation for many years to come.”Īnd in March, an Activision Blizzard executive publicly accused Ryan of saying that he " want a new Call of Duty deal. Advertisementįurther Reading Private email shows PlayStation chief unworried about Xbox-exclusive Call of DutySony's public complaints have also conflicted with reports of the company's private response to the news of Microsoft's attempted Activision acquisition. ![]() Court documents revealed that Call of Duty alone is worth at least $800 million in annual revenue to Sony and that up to 20 million PlayStation owners spend a significant portion of their console playtime on the series (including 1 million PlayStation owners who literally play no other games on the system). But the fate of Call of Duty has long been the major focus of both Sony and regulators. The deal, as announced over the weekend by Xbox Chief Phil Spencer and Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, doesn't seem to include a promise of PlayStation access to any of Activision Blizzard's other popular franchises (including Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Overwatch, Diablo, and more). ![]() ![]() And it's likely not a coincidence that the agreement with Sony was announced just one day after a federal appeals court denied the FTC's request for an appeal over that injunction decision. Further Reading Judge sides with Microsoft in FTC injunction, unlocking final Activision battlesThe new agreement also effectively moots one of the most significant arguments made by the Federal Trade Commission in its federal case to block the merger, which failed to earn an FTC-sought injunction last week. ![]()
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