It’s been over a year since Microsoft began its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but the soap opera generated around it is far from over. Not for both parties, rather the opposite, and not for a matter of liquidity (specifically 68.7 billion dollars) but because it does not depend solely on them: the commissions and regulatory bodies of each country have the last word. It is precisely in this process where Sony, the PlayStation parent company, Google or NVIDIA can intervene. Companies to which, definitely, they are not interested in completing the purchase.
We know, thanks to transparency in Brazil, that Sony has stated before regulatory bodies that the acquisition is a direct threat. We are also aware that in the United States or England they weigh the impact and damage to PlayStation that could cause Xbox to add the Activision and Blizzard sagas to their portfolio. Now according to Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Communicationswe are given to understand that the Brussels committees have been lied to.
Via your Twitter account, Shaw not only publicly states that Sony has declared before the European entity that they will not be given equal treatment in the event of the acquisition, but also ensures that it is the opposite. Moreover, he exposes the reasons why, in fact, PlayStation will become a priority for Microsoft and it will continue to be for Activision Blizzard.
I hear Sony is briefing people in Brussels claiming Microsoft is unwilling to offer them parity for Call of Duty if we acquire Activision.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
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— Frank X. Shaw (@fxshaw) January 28, 2023
I’ve heard that Sony is informing people in Brussels that Microsoft is not willing to offer them Call of Duty parity if we acquire Activision. Could not be farther from the truth.
We have made it clear that we have offered Sony a 10-year contract to give them parity in time, content, features, quality, gameplay and every other aspect of the game. We’ve also said that we’re happy to make this enforceable through contract, regulatory agreements, or other means.
Sony is the console market leader and it would defy business logic for us to exclude PlayStation gamers from the Call of Duty ecosystem.
Our goal is to bring Call of Duty and other games, like we did with Minecraft, to more people around the world so they can play where and how they want.
Long before Sony took part through the statements of regulatory bodies, Phil Spencer himself, president of Xbox, stated that not taking sagas as Call of Duty to PlayStation was like shooting themselves in the foot. In fact, Microsoft’s great plan is to bring the saga to other systems like Nintendo Switch. In any case, Microsoft has been very open and accommodating with Sony in offering them equal treatment.
Sony demands parity with Call of Duty. Microsoft will be delighted that there is.
Call of Duty It has become the hot potato in the face of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and it is not for less: its sales, its brand positioning and its importance are vital. PlayStation itself indicated that only that saga is capable of conditioning the purchase of a console.
And despite the fact that it appears on practically all systems, except Nintendo’s, until now Sony’s desktop players have had different added benefits, including early access to betas or content, exclusive items or elements as decisive as extra slots. or crossplay settings. What’s more, according to Phil Spencer Sony added specific clauses to games, including Call of Duty so that they would not appear on Game Pass.
Definitely, It cannot be said that this is equal treatment. All in all, Xbox’s strategy takes into account the huge community built around the saga on PlayStation.
Xbox made its strategy clear from the start: accelerating the growth of Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, consoles and the cloud, and in the process, enabling titles like Warcraft to be enjoyed anywhere. Including Nintendo Switch.
The summer of 2023 will be a crucial year for Microsoft, and PlayStation is part of its plan
Another very different thing are the sagas created from within, which will continue to be published on Xbox. But also beyond: Hi Fi Rush has not only been released on consoles and Windows, but can also be played on Epic or Steam. Although, of course, Game Pass players have it included in the launch service.
In this way, those who wish to buy the game can have it by buying it as usual, but for the price of a subscription they will have access from day one along with a huge variety of games. An alternative that, seeing the inevitable increase in the prices of each game, tends to play more in favor of the Xbox philosophy than the current PlayStation model. Nintendo, which does not downgrade its games except on very rare occasions, operates in a separate dimension.
The purchase of Activision Blizzard is expected to be completed in the summer of 2023, but Microsoft will not be content with that: its plans include the release of Redfall in May and subsequent Forza Motorsport and Starfield. In addition to the surprises that it launches between now and December. In the event that Xbox Game Studios welcomes Activision and Blizzard, games like Call of Duty or Diablo 4 will launch on Game Pass, and that will be a win for all.
And what will happen to PlayStation? As Phil Spencer or now Frank X. Shaw have stated, basically they will be in the same conditions as Xbox and PC players. With the difference that, once the campaigns agreed with Activision were completed, its players would now lose their priorities and they will have exactly the same conditions as in the rest of the platforms and one difference: they will be the only ones without an alternative to having to buy a copy of the game to play from day one.
