Microsoft President Brad Smith announced on Tuesday that the company has proposed a legally binding consent decree with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ensure rivals like Sony have access to Call of Duty games for the next ten years. This offer comes as Microsoft awaits approval for its $69-billion takeover bid for video game publisher Activision Blizzard.
In January 2022, Microsoft, the owner of Xbox consoles and game network platform, revealed plans to acquire Activision for $68.7 billion, marking the largest gaming industry deal in history.
Sony, the creator of the PlayStation console, has voiced concerns over Microsoft’s control of popular games like the Call of Duty series. However, the FTC and Activision Blizzard have yet to respond to the matter.
To address the criticism, Microsoft recently made a ten-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms and extended the same offer to Sony.
The Biden administration has taken steps to block Microsoft’s bid, posing a challenge to the tech giant’s ambitions of expanding its collection of popular games and competing with larger rivals.
Outside of the US, the European Union has initiated a full-scale investigation and plans to determine by March 23, 2023, whether to approve or reject the deal. The UK’s antitrust regulator also intends to conduct a thorough probe.
In November, sources revealed that Microsoft is expected to offer remedies to EU antitrust regulators in the upcoming weeks in an effort to prevent formal objections to the deal. The European Commission’s deadline for outlining a formal list of competition concerns, known as a statement of objection, is in January.
Without Activision’s diverse range of games available on various platforms, including mobile, consoles, and PCs, Microsoft could face challenges attracting users to its subscription service for accessing games. As traditional sources of growth, such as ad sales, become less reliable, attracting subscribers has become a key focus for major tech companies.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
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