After today’s hearing in the EU Tribunal on Xbox’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, the landscape has changed significantly. Nvidia made a deal with Microsoft, Nintendo made a deal with Xbox: things are looking up. However, there’s still the glitch of PlayStation owner Sony not seeming to budge.
Reports are emerging from the ground that Microsoft and Sony couldn’t come to an agreement in today’s agreement, February 21. The two companies were present at an EU court hearing earlier to discuss the finer details of Activision Blizzard’s Xbox deal.
Eurogamer’s live blog of the hearing shows Microsoft chairman Brad Smith holding up a contract the company had made for the PlayStation owner, a contract that was ultimately not signed by Sony. Call of Duty-focused outlet charlieintelligencia it also reports that Microsoft had an agreement “ready for Sony to sign” at the hearing.
Smith says Sony “can sit down with us and come to an agreement that addresses what he says is a concern, primarily access to Call of Duty in the future: CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) February 21, 2023
Microsoft has yet to reveal exactly what this contract contains, and the company likely won’t until it agrees to such a contract with Sony. Clearly, the PlayStation owner is still not happy with what Xbox is offering.
We don’t know when Xbox will meet with PlayStation to discuss the deal, but we do know the upcoming investigation deadlines set by the three major regulators. The EU case ends on March 23, the UK CMA investigation is due to close on April 26, while the US FTC has until August 2 to make a decision on the settlement. .
Will Sony ever accept this deal? Leave your thoughts on today’s news below.
Ben is a fan of action, racing, and direct fire in every video game he can get his hands on. When he’s not playing, Ben spends his time listening to too many Guns N’ Roses, watching football, and probably eating somewhere.