Microsoft’s supplemental responses to the UK’s Competitiojn Markets Authority’s (CMA) questions in February 27 remedies hearing have been published. The tech giant’s 68.7 billion acquisition has been under heavy scrutiny by their rival Sony and UK and US regulators due to their concerns over its potential negative effect on industry competition and forcing exclusivity on Activision Blizzard titles. Microsoft continues to refute these claims in their supplementary responses in newly proposed remedies, calling out Sony in particular.
“Microsoft stands ready to enter an agreement with Sony to ensure that CoD remains on PlayStation,” said Sony. “Microsoft has repeatedly committed to do so both publicly and privately. Sony has steadfastly refused to reach an agreement with Microsoft, calling instead for the Merger to be prohibited. Sony’s position must be seen for what it is: a self–serving attempt to protect its dominant market position, rather than one founded on genuine concerns regarding its continued access to CoD – which it could have secured on attractive terms months ago.”
Microsoft went on to note the 10-year agreements it signed with Nintendo and NVIDIA, the same one that was offered to Sony repeatedly, would be sufficient for Sony and would not impact competition.
“Microsoft considers that a period of 10 years is sufficient for Sony, as a leading publisher and console platform, to develop alternatives to CoD. The 10–year term will extend into the next console generation... Moreover, the practical effect of the remedy will go beyond the 10–year period, since games downloaded in the final year of the remedy can continue to be played for the lifetime of that console (and beyond, with backwards compatibility).”
Microsoft went on to point out the success of Nintendo, which is also an industry competitor but hasn’t had any new Call of Duty games since 2013.
“Nintendo’s success demonstrates conclusively that a console platform’s ability to compete effectively is not dependent on the ability to offer CoD to its customers. Rather, this is possible with a “differentiated offer.” In any event, Microsoft has already reached an agreement to bring CoD to the Nintendo platform for 10 years as part of its strategy to make CoD as widely available as possible.”
The Activision Blizzard acquisition is a ways away from a conclusion despite Microsoft’s continuous efforts. While they have made headway in swaying third-party developers and even Nintendo, it appears that more work will need to be done to get through to the US and UK regulators. That said, considering the rising number of third-party supporters, the CMA has repeatedly pushed back the date of its final decision as it gathers more opinions across the industry. Currently, the government organization is set to decide on May 22, 2023.