The UK Competition and Markets Authority is one of several regulators currently overseeing Activision Blizzard’s Xbox deal, with the authority constantly speculating why the deal could, and possibly should, be blocked.
One of those reasons has to do with Call of Duty, with the CMA even suggesting that Xbox might break off and sell that IP. Well, not only has Microsoft continually claimed that making CoD exclusive isn’t in its plans, rendering such a sale unnecessary, but the Xbox owner also feels that the CMA is exaggerating the impact that CoD exclusivity would have.
As part of a new report from Axios, Microsoft told the outlet that the UK authority “significantly overestimated the potential impact of making the Call of Duty franchise exclusive to Xbox and PC.” This discrepancy between Microsoft’s findings and the CMA stems from two different investigations, one conducted by each party.
Microsoft’s own investigation found that 3% from “all PlayStation users” and 10.5% of “CoD players” would switch to Xbox if Microsoft removed Call of Duty from PlayStation systems. The CMA’s own findings suggest that 15% “Call of Duty avid” gamers would make the switch.
As a result, the Xbox owner believes the CMA has “significantly overstated” here, which in turn hurts Microsoft’s case for the current deal. Even with all of that in mind, Xbox has always said it has no plans to make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox and PC.
At this time, we do not know if these investigations will have any real impact on the deal, with the CMA investigation still ongoing via April 26. A similar investigation is also underway in the EU at the moment, although Xbox’s recent deals with Nvidia and Nintendo have had a positive impact on the potential success of the acquisition.
Could you ever see COD exclusively? Leave your thoughts on the subject below.
(source axios.com)
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.