Is This The Sole Reason Why Sony is Scared of Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal With Activision?

This FTC vs Microsoft case is spewing game industry secrets on a whole new level. Multiple hidden secrets like conversations between Xbox and PlayStation higher-ups and Sony hindering the development of Minecraft have come to light. Executives from all parties came to court to show their company’s standpoints. However, Sony’s poorly redacted documents have become a hot topic in this case, which might prove vital later.

These documents have shed light on information that Sony was trying to hide from the public. Furthermore, they had information on how damaging the fruition of the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal will be for Sony. And Call of Duty was at the epicenter of the debacle.

Call of Duty can be a reason Microsoft takes a lead over Sony in console wars

The poorly redacted documents from the case contained vital information on the relationship between Sony and Call of Duty. In 2021 alone, the exclusive player base of Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles was over a million users. 6 million PlayStation players spent 70% of their time only playing Call of Duty titles.

This data holds significant importance for Sony as if ever Microsoft decided to pull Call of Duty from PlayStation consoles, it would lead to a loss of players. Furthermore, they will lose out a lot of earnings on the revenue-generating cash cow named Call of Duty.

The whole FTC vs Microsoft case started when the federal authorities and rival companies questioned the Activision acquisition. The FTC issued a temporary restraining order on this deal, citing anti-trust issues. They have claimed that Microsoft will use this deal to leverage its position in the gaming market and create a monopoly.

Read More: Microsoft Xbox’s Game Studio Hunt: Sega, Bungie, and More Were Considered Prior to Activision Acquisition Deal

If ever in the near future Microsoft decides to make Call of Duty an exclusive, this would result in a lot of user base shifting to Xbox. And presumably, Sony is afraid of this tactic only, as they themselves have a long history of making exclusive titles. However, the Xbox makers have continuously denied these claims.

Xbox CEO and Microsoft CEO both have asserted they will not make the third-party titles exclusive. Furthermore, making Call of Duty exclusive right now will lead to losses for Microsoft as well. However, it can change in the future if Microsoft earns enough revenue from the deal. But for now, the main focus of Microsoft will be to prove the Activision deal is valid.

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