Microsoft’s plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion have been met by several roadblocks, including a review by the FTC, an investigation from the European Commission, and more.
Sony has been involved in it too—particularly because it led to speculation about whether Microsoft will allow Activision Blizzard titles like Call of Duty to be available on PlayStation consoles.
They weighed in on the merger via a document submitted in October, and in that document inadvertently roasted the Battlefield franchise into oblivion by pointing out how far it’s fallen in a section expressing their concerns over Microsoft’s agreement to continue releasing Activision Blizzard on PlayStation consoles until 2027.
“Even assuming that Sony Interactive Entertainment had the ability and resources to develop a similarly successful franchise to Call of Duty, it would take many, many years and billions of dollars to create a challenger to Call of Duty,” the wrote.
The true zinger was waiting in the next paragraph though: “The example of EA’s Battlefield [franchise] shows any such efforts would more than likely be unsuccessful.”
In other words, Battlefield—which was once considered to be CoD’s biggest rival, is now, in their opinion, nothing more than an example of how the franchise cannot be touched. And the evidence supports their view.
Battlefield 2042 was a commercial and critical failure. EA more or less admitted it themselves. It failed to reach the heights of its predecessors.
The issue runs deeper than that, though. A report from Statista estimated the entire franchise has sold around 85 million units throughout the years—much less than the 425 million reportedly sold in the CoD franchise.
Sony’s criticism came strictly from a business standpoint, but it was nonetheless a brutal blow for EA and Battlefield as they try to figure out how to turn things around.
