Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal has been an emotional rollercoaster and it’s clearly taking its toll on both sides. The almost $69 billion deal has been a tennis match of proposals and rejections, with no solid footing placed in either court.
Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard’s CEO, shared that their relationship with Sony has been on a knife edge since the attempted acquisition and that Jim Ryan, PlayStation’s top dog, has been radio-silent with both Microsoft and Activision.
Kotnick told the Financial Times, “Suddenly, Sony’s entire leadership team stopped talking to anyone at Microsoft.” The Activision Blizzard CEO expressed his distress that “idealogues” were a present issue plaguing the agencies. “The whole idea that we are not going to support a PlayStation or that Microsoft would not support the PlayStation, it is absurd.”
Earlier this year, Ryan met with Margrethe Vestager, the EU antitrust boss, to explore options regarding Microsoft’s acquisition. This then led Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft’s communications director to claim that “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,” he added.
In recent news, the Microsoft Activision Blizzard deal has once again been questioned by a Competition and Markets Authority, with the CMA suggesting “Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision could result in higher prices, fewer choices, or less innovation for UK gamers.”
If the deal eventually proceeds, Microsoft could gather exclusivity of several massive titles. Games like Overwatch, Diablo, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Starcraft have the potential to be wiped from the Sony catalog entirely.
