Microsoft Claims Sony Created A False Narrative To Try And Dissuade EU Regulators Concerning The Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

According to Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Communications Frank X. Shaw, Sony Interactive has been actively lying to the European Union’s (EU) antitrust authorities about Microsoft’s intentions with Call of Duty if the acquisition of Activision Blizzard were to go through. Shaw writes on Twitter that Sony has been telling “People in Brussels” that Microsoft is unwilling to offer the company Call of Duty parity in the acquisition. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” Shaw writes. “We’ve been clear we’ve offered Sony a 10 year deal to give them parity on timing, content, features, quality, playability, and any other aspect of the game.”

I hear Sony is briefing people in Brussels claiming Microsoft is unwilling to offer them parity for Call of Duty if we acquire Activision.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

1/4

— Frank X. Shaw (@fxshaw) January 28, 2023

Shaw also mentioned Microsoft's willingness to create a contract, regulatory agreements, or anything else Sony might need for assurance and to make Microsoft's claims enforceable. “It would defy business logic for us to exclude PlayStation gamers from the Call of Duty ecosystem,” Shaw adds. “Our goal is to bring Call of Duty and other games – as we did with Minecraft – to more people around the world so they can play them where and how they want.”

This news however is only a single drop in the overflowing ocean of issues and court cases that have been stirring over the Microsoft Activision-Blizzard deal. Despite Microsoft's claims, Sony is still skeptical, even going so far as to believe that Microsoft could add extra content to CoD making the Xbox version and PlayStation version different. In addition, Microsoft has served Sony with a subpoena to divulge details of PlayStation's game production pipeline. Microsoft believes this may help build its defense in the FTC lawsuit. The same FTC lawsuit that may have been timed in such a way as to try and manipulate a potential EU settlement.