Despite the uncertainty that currently surrounds the process, Microsoft would have no doubts in exhausting every last resort to complete the Activision purchase. After it became known that the United States FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is about to file a lawsuit to try to block the purchase, now a new report from Reuters suggests that Microsoft is willing to give some concessions to get the green light.
Microsoft may waive certain rights as owner of Activision and its intellectual property. According to the aforementioned media, one of them has to do with call of duty, which for months has been the center of debate in relation to the purchase proposal. Although on several occasions it has transpired that those from Redmond are willing to keep the saga on Sony consoles, now Microsoft would like to formalize it before the regulators.
In such a way, a commitment would be established by legal means. With this move, those led by Satya Nadella would expect regulators to take another stance on buying Activision. It is well known that US and European agencies are not looking favorably on the acquisition; mainly because widely popular franchises like call of duty they would be managed by a console manufacturer.
Those of Redmond, then, would —legally— propose to continue launching call of duty at least for another 10 years on the PlayStation platform. However, Reuters it also indicates that there will be other types of concessions beyond the treatment of said franchise. These, however, are not known in detail. They will likely come out in a matter of days, as the FTC would try to block the purchase sometime in December.
“Sony, as an industry leader, says it is concerned about call of duty, but we have said that we are committed to making the game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStatio. We want people to have more access to games, not less,” a Microsoft representative told the aforementioned source.
Of course, Microsoft would have to take this statement into a legal compromise. Still, that no guarantee that regulators’ concerns will go away In a blink of an eye. In fact, Sony’s biggest complaint in this regard is that Microsoft, by having Xbox Game Pass, could launch a new installment of call of duty in this service.
You don’t have to break your head to understand that such a move would do a lot of damage to Sony consoles. The reason? It would be more attractive for consumers to pay a subscription than the full price for each annual delivery of call of duty.
Either way, supposedly there is an agreement between Activision and Sony so that call of duty won’t make it to Xbox Game Pass for a long time. “The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on Activision Blizzard’s ability to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for several years,” Microsoft itself mentioned in a document obtained by VGC.
It will be interesting to know what are the other concessions of Microsoft in relation to the purchase of Activision. They will undoubtedly have to be very forceful for regulators to open the door for them.
The North American company is still in time to prepare its final proposals. If the FTC decides to take legal action to block the purchase, it must first receive clearance from various commissioners.
In addition, they would previously have to sit down with the lawyers of the parties involved, in this case Microsoft and Activision, to discuss the situation with them. It would be at this point when those of Redmond would seek to reach some kind of agreement that benefits everyone, including their competition.