from the heeding-the-call dept
After Microsoft’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard was announced, alongside its deal to acquire Zenimax/Bethesda, we’ve had a series of posts pointing out that this consolidation of the gaming industry has featured vague statements from Microsoft leaving everyone wondering about the exclusivity of major gaming franchises. One of those major franchises would be Activision’s Call of Duty. Microsoft, in what has become its familiar fashion, made some vague statements about honoring Activision’s current agreements with Sony, along with a promise to keep CoD on the PlayStation for “at least another 3 years.”
What you need to keep in mind when it comes to these statements is that the gaming public is only one-half of the audience for all of these statements. The other half is the regulators in the US and the UK that will ultimately decide if this acquisition even goes through. And those regulators are keying in on the exclusivity of franchises like CoD specifically.
“Microsoft is one of three large companies, together with Sony and Nintendo, that have led the market for gaming consoles for the past 20 years with limited entries from new rivals,” the CMA said. “Activision Blizzard has some of the world’s best-selling and most recognizable gaming franchises, such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. The CMA is concerned that if Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard it could harm rivals, including recent and future entrants into gaming, by refusing them access to Activision Blizzard games or providing access on much worse terms.”
The CMA said these “concerns warrant an in-depth Phase 2 investigation,” so Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have been ordered “to submit proposals to address the CMA’s concerns” within five working days. “If suitable proposals are not submitted, the deal will be referred for a Phase 2 investigation,” which would “allow an independent panel of experts to probe in more depth the risks identified at Phase 1,” the CMA said.
That’s the UK side of this, while American regulators are starting to ask some of the same questions. Frankly, with all of that in mind, mealy-mouthed half-promises to maybe keep major franchises cross-platform for some period of time is… not helpful. The fact that Sony is very much pushing regulators to pay attention here shows just how important this is becoming to the gaming landscape.
And so perhaps it’s not all that surprising that Xbox’s Phil Spencer, responsible for said mealy-mouthed statements, is out with a brand new promise: CoD will remain on the PlayStation as long as Sony keeps making consoles.
Microsoft Xbox chief Phil Spencer said he intends to continue to ship Call of Duty games on PlayStation “as long as there’s a PlayStation out there to ship to.” The new promise comes weeks after Sony lambasted an “inadequate” offer to extend Call of Duty’s cross-platform access for three years past the current agreement and as Microsoft faces continuing scrutiny from international governments over its proposed $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.
“We’re not taking Call of Duty from PlayStation,” Spencer said directly in an interview with the Same Brain podcast. “That’s not our intent.”
Now, were that the original (maybe actual?) intent of Microsoft, Spencer could have made this statement months ago. The three year timeline appears to be gone. Why? Regulatory approval of the acquisition.
Your next question should have already leaped mind: what happens if the deal goes through and then Microsoft reverses on this promise? Well, statements to the press aren’t a contractual agreement, so a failure to keep this promise would likely rely on regulators with actual teeth punishing the company for doing so. American regulatory bodies are not known for their canines, if I may be frank. The UK has traditionally been better about this.
To be clear, Microsoft should want to keep selling AAA franchises on PlayStation. And Switches. And mobile devices. Any anywhere else it can make money. Exclusivity is dumb and Spencer himself has said they are not the Xbox’s future.
Meanwhile, I need to go make a spreadsheet to keep track of all of Microsoft’s promises.
Filed Under: antitrust, call of duty, exclusives, playstation, xbox
Companies: activision blizzard, microsoft
Source by www.techdirt.com
