Microsoft wants to complete the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and move forward with its plans. The latest move, if Sony accepts it, will greatly benefit PlayStation users: Xbox Game Studios’ plan would not only include adding Call of Duty to Game Pass, but would have offered Sony to include it as part of the PlayStation Plus subscription. at least according to indica Bloomberg.
This peculiar situation goes back a long way: for Jim Ryan, president of PlayStation, maintaining what has already been agreed with Activision regarding the Call of Duty saga on PlayStation consoles is insufficient and they are concerned with notifying the regulatory bodies in charge of approving the purchase. Some do not see obstacles and others understand that the change of hands of the war saga can be a lethal move for PlayStation as a company.
The other reality is that it is about to be a year since the announcement was made official and while Sony has announced new purchases and future exclusivities, from Microsoft they have been very restrained regarding advertisements and what’s new for Xbox. Which has its logic: it is quite likely that putting dates and details on games like Redfall or Starfield, or announcing games that will only come out on Xbox and PC, could compromise the acquisition.
From Activision Blizzard, creators of Call of Duty, they are clear about what they want: they will defend the Microsoft acquisition if necessary and they assure that any suggestion that the purchase could have anti-competitive effects is “absurd”. In any case, Activision Blizzard is much more than a single game saga, for many millions that this sale.
What Call of Duty included as part of the PlayStation Plus service will boost both subscribers to it and the value of PlayStation consoles. Sony will lose that huge and controversial percentage of direct sales that has given him more than one headache, but which is of vital importance to his project.
And although Microsoft clears up any doubt about the future of the Call of Duty saga on the desktop, Xbox and PlayStation players come out ahead, but is it enough for sony?
A good deal for PlayStation gamers, and for Sony?
So far Microsoft’s proposals have been more than generous: Phil Spencer, from Xbox, has guaranteed that games in the saga will be offered Call of Duty for ten yearsagreements prior to the acquisition will be respected, including favorable treatment in betas or exclusive content, and it also ensures that as long as there is a PlayStation console they will continue to publish new installments of the game.
They have even promised to bring the Call of Duty saga to Switch or reinforce the saga on Steam, which will bring greater benefits to Microsoft. Stop bringing the saga to PlayStation would be a shot in the foot, and at Microsoft they know it. Obviously, the latter also affects Sony’s business model for very different reasons.
However, one important thing should not be lost sight of: it is not Sony executives who decide whether the acquisition can go ahead, but regulatory bodies in the United States or Europe.
In any case, this situation has greatly benefited PlayStation gamers and, throughout this period, a Sony that has known how to seize the moment. Microsoft’s acquisitions have stopped dead and the news of the key games of Xbox Game Studios began to arrive with a dropper. In fact, Xbox’s presence at the last Game Awards was little more than a medley of games coming to Game Pass. Literally.
Meanwhile, PlayStation Studios has taken the opportunity to expand to PC and grow internally.
To all effects, Microsoft wants to complete the acquisition and move forward with their own plans. Above all, in the face of new installments of Crash and a Diablo 4 that are already on the horizon. Will Call of Duty being included in PS Plus be enough for Sony? Maybe yes, or quite the opposite. But definitely They can’t make it easier for regulatory bodies.
