{"id":19709,"date":"2022-11-29T21:10:17","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T21:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/29\/microsoft-to-offer-sony-10-year-call-of-duty-license-to-appease-eu-regulators\/"},"modified":"2022-11-29T21:10:17","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T21:10:17","slug":"microsoft-to-offer-sony-10-year-call-of-duty-license-to-appease-eu-regulators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/29\/microsoft-to-offer-sony-10-year-call-of-duty-license-to-appease-eu-regulators\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft to Offer Sony 10-Year Call of Duty License to Appease EU Regulators"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Microsoft\u2019s bid to acquire Activision Blizzard is on thin ice. Antitrust regulators from several regions have been reviewing<\/a> the deal all year, and several have recently expressed concern that the acquisition could drastically reduce competition within the video game industry. With European Union watchdogs especially wary, Microsoft appears prepared to do whatever it takes to push the deal through\u2014even if it means making concessions to Sony.<\/p>\n

The EU opened a deeper probe<\/a> into the bid in early November following a marked spike in concerns over Activision\u2019s most successful franchises, particularly Call of Duty. Sony, Microsoft\u2019s biggest gaming competitor, has repeatedly noted<\/a> in no uncertain terms that Microsoft\u2019s acquisition of Activision could mean a rapid loss of vital content for PlayStation players. Not only would Microsoft\u2019s acquisition<\/a> of Activision make Microsoft the third largest gaming company in the world, but from Sony\u2019s perspective, sudden Call of Duty exclusivity could push former PlayStation devotees to PC or Xbox.<\/p>\n

Microsoft has previously attempted to assuage these worries in two starkly different ways. At first, its tactic was to assure Sony (and the rest of the world) that its console compatibility agreements involving Call of Duty and other major Activision titles would remain in effect<\/a> past<\/i> their contracted timelines. Then it changed tack, telling<\/a> Sony and antitrust regulators that Activision didn\u2019t have any \u201cmust-have\u201d titles. (Read: \u201cSo just stop stressing about it, okay?\u201d)<\/p>\n

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(Image: Activision Blizzard)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Those strategies don\u2019t seem to have had the effect Microsoft wanted. According to a new Reuters report<\/a>, the EU is set to publish a formal list of competition concerns (called a \u201cstatement of objection\u201d) regarding the deal in January. Microsoft, clearly eager to get ahead of whatever the EU has in store, is reportedly preparing to offer Sony a 10-year Call of Duty license to sweeten the deal.<\/p>\n

The possible 10-year agreement is a touch ironic given Microsoft\u2019s previous insistence that it would keep major Activision titles available on PlayStation regardless, but of course it\u2019s always best to get those types of promises on paper. Still, even if Microsoft does formally submit such an offer, there\u2019s no guarantee that it\u2019ll be accepted both by Sony and by the necessary authorities. If it is, legal experts believe the license could accelerate the review process and appease any concerns raised in January.<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean Microsoft would be cleared for takeoff, however. Three sources told Politico last week that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is likely to challenge<\/a> the $69 billion deal via lawsuit. Though nothing has been filed yet, an FTC lawsuit could mean the end of Microsoft\u2019s bid, which aims to wrap up its acquisition of Activision by July 2023.<\/p>\n

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