Sony vs. Microsoft: “Without Call of Duty, fewer first-party titles for PlayStation”

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard has been heating up for months. Now Sony has given another reason why the purchase should not be approved under any circumstances. The Hot Take: Without the revenue from Call of Duty, there would be a lack of money to develop first-party titles.

Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard dropped a big bombshell over a year ago. The Redmond group wants to take over the developer studios together with all brands – for a whopping 68.7 billion US dollars. You have to let that melt in your mouth first. However, some other parties and companies object. First and foremost, of course, Sony, but various antitrust authorities have also got involved and have been reviewing the deal for several months. The fear of Microsoft becoming a monopoly is simply too great.

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Of course, Sony’s concerns are mainly due to the lack of revenue if Call of Duty no longer appears on PlayStation systems. How serious the issue is, however, is now clear from a court document. Accordingly, if the takeover is successful, there will be less budget for large first-party titles. Or to put it very simply (and somewhat exaggerated): without Call of Duty, there would be no God of War, Spider-Man or The Last of Us.

Harsh words and gloomy prospects. However, one must of course also note that Sony is deliberately playing the role of victim in order to prevent the takeover. Still, it’s not a good prospect when the document states that the reduced returns could “reduce Sony Interactive Entertainment’s incentive and ability to invest in new games.”

So it will remain exciting to see how the story surrounding the takeover will continue to develop. Microsoft has shown itself to be quite willing to make major concessions in recent weeks. An agreement was recently signed with Nintendo that will ensure releases of Call of Duty on Nintendo consoles for ten years. Similar offers are even conceivable for PlayStation systems. However, Sony continues to stand in the way and the antitrust authorities remain stubborn.