The soap opera involving the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft continues to produce good chapters, but some twists and turns left a surprise in the gaming industry. According to the Xbox company, Sony did not accept having the Game Pass service on its consoles, in addition to having made “demands” to approve the order.
Yes, that's right. There was an attempt to incorporate Game Pass into the PlayStation, but the idea was blocked by Sony. Microsoft's allegation came in documents sent to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is currently reviewing the Activison Blizzard deal in phase 2 at the moment.
The Microsoft documents were shared on Twitter by journalist Tom Warren, from The Verge website. The Xbox company's revelation involves Sony's fear of the impacts of "Call of Duty" after the possible completion of Activision Blizzard's purchase.
Microsoft says Sony has "chosen to block Game
Pass from PlayStation" and that it has "elected to protect its revenues from sales of newly released games, rather than offer gamers the choice of accessing them via its subscription, PlayStation Plus." All a response to UK's CMA pic.twitter./ytOIhLRoIr
According to Microsoft, the acquisition will not bring any "Call of Duty" favor to Xbox consoles and this thought has no basis. The company claims that PlayStation players will be able to buy FPS in the platform's store, so Game Pass titles are also available for purchase by players.
"PlayStation players will continue to be able to buy Call of Duty on their console and it will cost less than switching to a new Xbox console," Microsoft said. "Again, this competition is not welcomed by market leader Sony, which has decided to protect its revenue from new releases rather than providing gamers with choice through the PlayStation Plus service," he added.
After the CMA stated that the Activision Blizzard deal could harm competition and would need further investigation, Microsoft claimed the regulator relied on Sony's objections without an appropriate level of critical review. The company reiterates that the PlayStation company is an industry leader and the acquisition would not harm market demand.
Meanwhile, Sony has made a series of "demands" to accept Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard. The Japanese company also sent documents to the CMA and stated that “Call of Duty” titles should not be given advantages on Xbox platforms regarding performance and content. In addition, another requirement would be not to include FPS games as part of the Game Pass subscription on the launch day – in this case, a day-one launch.
Sony's requirements to allow MS to acquire Activision:
For CoD for Xbox:
– No extra content that is not available on PlayStation.
– No hardware enhancements better than PlayStation.
– No Xbox Game Pass benefits. pic.twitter./FfW0ImgJC0
In this way, the discussions and bureaucracies should extend the soap opera of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, forecasts for the finalization of the agreement only for March 2023. Despite the inconveniences, Microsoft believes in a happy ending for the pra, which will still be analyzed by regulatory bodies from other countries going forward.
Read more:
- UK to deepen investigation into Microsoft's acquisition of Activision
- 20 years ago, Microsoft tried the Rare studio: check out the games produced in that period
- Xbox Game Pass: Check out the classics available in the catalog
Last week, Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) approved the acquisition, without imposing any restrictions. In addition to the United Kingdom, the agreement will be analyzed by regulators in the US and the European Union, important markets for the gaming industry.
Information via Eurogamer and The Gamer
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