New twist in the case of the takeover of Activision-Blizzard. In their latest report, Sony seems to imply that Microsoft may be deliberately seeking to sabotage the PlayStation versions of Call of Duty…and that argument isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
here it is now more than a year since Microsoft’s announcement of Activision-Blizzard takeover fell and yet it is a case of which we definitely do not see the end. Indeed, in recent months, they have been the subject of a real struggle between the American firm and Sony, which seems determined to make every effort to ensure that this takeover does not succeed. To do this, the company headed by Jim Ryan does not hesitate to present all kinds of arguments before the various commissions, and one of the last, that linked to Call of Duty, has not ceased to react on the networks social.
Microsoft could sabotage Call of Duty on PlayStation according to Sony
Recently, Indeed, the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) has asked Sony to provide a full and detailed report of its arguments. in the context of this case. In this way, the British organization intends to understand why the Japanese giant wants to oppose this takeover bid to make a decision. no surprise, The question then arose of the place of Call of Duty on the market, and more precisely of the importance it represents for the PlayStation brand.. But one argument in particular caught the attention of Internet users.
Sony suggests to the CMA that Microsoft could release a buggy version of Call of Duty on PlayStation that could cause gamers to lose faith “in PlayStation as the go-to place to play Call of Duty.” Seriously… pic.twitter.com/6y0vnQh7rm
—Tom Warren (@tomwarren) March 8, 2023
And for good reason, in his report, Sony brings up the possibility that Microsoft deliberately put out a buggy or even inferior version of the games on PlayStation, just to promote the Xbox version.. “For example, Microsoft could release a PlayStation version of Call of Duty where bugs and crashes only occur in the last level of the game or after a later update.” we can read in particular.
The report then states that “Even if such degradations could be detected quickly, any correction would probably come too late”. As a result, Sony believes that “The gaming community has reportedly lost faith in PlayStation as a place of choice to play Call of Duty”which she wants to avoid at all costs. “If gaming performance on PlayStation is known to lag behind Xbox, Call of Duty players may turn to Xbox for fear of playing an inferior or less competitive version of their favorite game”.
A deal that doesn’t stick
Obviously, such arguments are far from unanimous on the web. And the reason is very simple as with such comments, Sony more or less implicitly indicates that Microsoft may try to be bad just in order to discredit PlayStation. in the public eye. A behavior that many describe as childish on the part of Jim Ryan, especially when we know that Phil Spencer offered Sony a 10-year contract for Call of Dutywhich he chose to reject.
Microsoft says its 10-year contract for Call of Duty on PlayStation means any CoD game can be on Sony’s subscription service. Sony says Microsoft’s proposed licensing terms are “problematic” and would “commercially destroy SIE’s multi-game subscription business model”. pic.twitter.com/2T3UMBPMLL
—Tom Warren (@tomwarren) March 8, 2023
This agreement would have allowed the Japanese firm to include future episodes of the license directly on PlayStation Plus, but the report says Sony was not happy with the terms offered as they stand. Note that this same deal has already been approved by Nvidia and Nintendo, which will allow Microsoft to offer Call of Duty on the Nintendo Switch or any future Nintendo console. Brief, Suffice to say that things are still far from settled… However, the European Commission will deliver its final verdict on April 26.