by
William D’Angelo
, posted 29 minutes ago / 269 Views
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK has released a new report on Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The report reveals that Sony Interactive Entertainment believes if the deal were to go through it would cause Call of Duty players to switch from PlayStation to Xbox even if the series were to remain multiplatform.
“SIE told the CMA that, even if CoD games remained available on PlayStation following the Merger, the Merged Entity would still be able to engage in partial foreclosure by increasing the differentiation between the versions of CoD available on Xbox and on PlayStation,” reads the document.
Sony says Call of Duty on Xbox would end up getting extra content and enhancements compared to the PlayStation version. However, it should be noted Sony’s current deal with Activision Blizzard that has been in place for nearly a decade means the PlayStation versions do get exclusive content. Microsoft during the Xbox 360 era had paid for exclusive Call of Duty marketing and content.
“According to SIE, gamers may expect that CoD on Xbox will include extra content and enhanced interoperability with the console hardware, in addition to any benefits from membership in XGP.” the report added. “SIE submitted that these factors are likely to influence gamers’ choice of console.”
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently stated Microsoft signed an agreement to Sony in a written letter sent to PlayStation boss Jim Ryan in January. The agreement is that Microsoft will keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles for “several more years” beyond the current Sony deal.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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