The proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard from Microsoft it remains under investigation by regulatory bodies around the world. Although it seems that the process is standing nearing its conclusion, led Sony to express extreme concerns and take several actions to make the acquisition look bad. Famous was the affirmation of the CEO of PlayStation Jim Ryan, who had no interest in a new agreement regarding the Call of Duty series on Playstation, but only to block the acquisition.
For Activision, Sony’s shares have been a disappointment, especially after they have worked closely together for several years. There has even been a PlayStation exclusive marketing deal lately in recent years. The Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, in an email he recently sent to company employees, called Sony’s actions “disappointing.” These actions will not affect the relationship between the two companies and Activision will continue to ensure quality products for the PlayStation versions.
Bobby Kotick stated that:
“You may have seen statements from Sony, including an argument that if this deal goes through, Microsoft may release deliberately ‘bugged’ versions of our games on PlayStation. We all know that our passionate gamers would be the first to hold Microsoft accountable for delivering on its promises of content and quality parity. And all of us who work so hard to deliver the best games in our industry, care too much about our players to release crappy versions of our games. Sony has even admitted that they aren’t really concerned about a Call of Duty deal – they just want to prevent our merger from happening. This is obviously disappointing behavior from a partner of nearly three decades, but we will not let Sony’s behavior affect our long-term relationship. PlayStation gamers know that we will continue to deliver the best possible games on Sony platforms as we have done since the launch of PlayStation.”
The UK CMA had initially expressed concerns over Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as it could harm the competition. Recently, the CMA released new findings in which it said the deal would not hurt competition. Meanwhile, the European Commission has postponed the deadline of its final decision on the deal to May 22, but recent reports suggest the possibility of the regulator approving the deal. Lately, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission has also approved the acquisition. We will keep you updated, as always, on any developments in the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard agreement.
