New twist on Activision-Blizzard acquisition. Microsoft is asking Sony to appear in court to force it to reveal its secrets.
The acquisition of Activision-Blizzard continues to cause debate among international regulators. Microsoft is encountering much reluctance from key regulators, including the FTC, which plans to sue the Redmond-based company. In fact, in December 2022, the American competition police officer filed a complaint against Xbox’s parent company. Since then, she has been trying to somehow find a way out of this stalemate using all sorts of legal arguments. The latest to prove that obtaining strong licenses like Call of Duty or World of Warcraft would not jeopardize the sustainability of Sony and its PS5.
Sony forced to reveal its future-excluded PS5?
The noose around Microsoft is tightening. While the American giant has laid off more than 10,000 employees, it is doing everything it can to justify its historic acquisition of Activision-Blizzard for the modest sum of $68 million. Regulatory bodies are resisting, and in the United States, regulators are even prepared to take the Redmond-based company to court. To defend itself, Xbox wants to prove that Sony doesn’t need Call of Duty and the group’s powerful licenses to survive and ensure the good health of the PS5 and its future consoles.
In fact, new FTC documents show that Microsoft has summoned its competitor to appear before the regulator’s Administrative Court. With this maneuver, the American giant is trying to make YOU reveal ” Amount of current production and schedule “. In other words, Microsoft wants Sony to reveal the schedule of its future PS5 exclusives in order to defend its case. According to documents from journalist Stephen Totilo, Sony has until January 27 to respond to this subpoena. The Japanese giant must either fight back or accept his rival’s request and answer questions If Sony testified, the Redmond company could force them to reveal some of their secrets.
We remember that this happened during the lawsuit between Apple and Epic Games, which had lifted the veil on certain internal strategies. In particular, we remember Microsoft’s desire to offer Xbox Game Pass on PlayStation or Nintendo consoles, or Sony’s crossplay conditions.
