“We’ve offered Sony a 10-year contract to make each new ‘Call of Duty’ release available on PlayStation the same day it comes to Xbox,” Smith explained. Microsoft would also be willing to extend the same agreement to other platforms, he continued — as evidenced by today’s announcement about Nintendo — as well as “making it legally enforceable by regulators in the US, UK, and European Union.”
Sony’s argument, meanwhile, has been critical of both the proposed acquisition and Microsoft’s attempts to settle fears among its rivals. It’s not, however, the only skeptical party involved. The European Union is already investigating the deal, amid concerns that Microsoft could be chasing single-platform dominance.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also been examining the Activision Blizzard deal, requesting further information earlier this year. Back then, a final agreement by the FTC was thought unlikely to arrive until midway through 2023, though since then the outlook has become even more grim.
Reports in late November suggested that the FTC was “likely” to file an antitrust lawsuit, in an attempt to block the acquisition. A public announcement of that process could be made as soon as the end of 2022.
