Microsoft Wins FTC Case in the US: Will Appeal to the UK's CMA.
This 'victory' means they could go back to negotiating with the CMA in the UK.
The FTC ruled in favor of Microsoft's intention to acquire Activision. This will give the company leverage to retake negotiations with the CMA in the UK who ruled against the acquisition a couple of months ago.
'In the public interest'
Microsoft's president, Brad Smith said to Eurogamer that "In order to prioritize work on these proposals, Microsoft and Activision have agreed with the CMA that a stay of the litigation in the UK would be in the public interest and the parties have made a joint submission to the Competition Appeal Tribunal to this effect."
The battle is not over for the software giant, and winning the court case against the FTC will put them in a much better position to negotiate with the CMA in the UK. They are the 'final boss' and once they can 'defeat' them, nothing will stand in the way of the Activision takeover.
Sony's fears exclusivity
One of the main opposers to this takeover is Sony. The Japanese company is afraid that Microsoft will make Call of Duty exclusive to the Xbox and PC. Phil Spencer has reiterated that they will continue to release the most popular first-person shooter on the PlayStation.
Sony is a wise wolf, and they know that 'talk is cheap'. Phil Spencer might be telling the truth about keeping Call of Duty on the PlayStation, but the future is unpredictable. Conditions change, and there can be a scenario where Microsoft is 'forced' to make Call of Duty or other Activision games Xbox & PC exclusive.
Sony needs some sort of written proof that Call of Duty will be on the PlayStation consoles indefinitely. Unfortunately, there is no precedent for this sort of situation, and it's impossible to guarantee that the game will always be available on current and future consoles.
What Microsoft is suggesting makes a bit more sense; they want Sony to sign a 10-year contract that guarantees the game will be available for their console. If one appeals to Microsoft and Phil Spencer's goodwill, it is expected that this contract can be renewed once it expires.
There will never be a guarantee that Call of Duty will be available forever on PlayStation consoles. Only periodical contracts can make it plausible. Sony could sign contracts per console lifecycle, securing the game for that specific generation.
Nintendo joins the party
Microsoft announced that they will release Call of Duty games on the Nintendo systems as well, the Switch to be precise. It is expected that its successor will also have the game be released every year. Nothing has been mentioned about cross-play with the Nintendo Switch, but let's not rule it out for the 'Switch 2' or whatever its name will be.
This will finally put the game on all main platforms available for the first time in many years. However, this might put Sony in a peculiar situation. What if Microsoft is just switching partners? Perhaps they will ditch Sony and get Nintendo on board the Call of Duty train. It will not hurt Microsoft's financial expectations with the franchise because there are more Nintendo Switch consoles sold than PlayStation 5.
A precedent will be set
If the UKs CMA ends up approving the takeover, and based on what every other regulation agency has said, a significant precedent will be set. Nothing can stop Microsoft from acquiring other companies like EA, Ubisoft, or even Rockstar.
Microsoft and Sony are both multi-national conglomerates that have diversified goods and services. They both have the financial capacity to acquire big videogame publishers/studios.
Sony could react by trying to aquire another big name, like the ones mentioned above. But that could also mean that Microsoft might do the same. Everything has a price, and times are uncertain. A big bid for a company could mean that investors and interested parties will get the millionaire profits they were expecting for many years. Why not cash the chips?
What do you think of Microsoft's takeover? Do you think Call of Duty will be Xbox/PC exclusive? Let me know in the comments below.
Happy gaming.
