Xbox v PlayStation: Giants clash over Call of Duty
Xbox owner Microsoft has hit back at claims its plan to buy the maker of Call of Duty may unfairly affect its rivals, including Sony, which owns PlayStation.
Microsoft wants to buy Activision Blizzard, which also makes Overwatch and Candy Crush, for $68.7bn (£59.2bn).
The UK watchdog looking into the plan has said Microsoft could use Activision games to “out-compete” its rivals.
Microsoft said it still hoped the deal would be closed by June 2023.
Competition regulators in Saudi Arabia and Brazil have already approved it.
But last month, the Competition and Markets Authority announced it would be asking an independent panel to look into the proposal.
And the CMA suggested buying it could allow Microsoft to monopolize top games such as Call of Duty by making them available primarily on Xbox consoles, PCs and Game Pass, its cloud gaming service.
In a detailed account of its decision to launch an in-depth investigation, published today, the CMA says that “Call of Duty is sufficiently important that losing access to it (or losing access on competitive terms) could significantly impact Sony’s revenues and user base”.
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