Bobby Kotick has come out firing on all cylinders in a new interview with the Financial Times. Bobby says Sony is actively sabotaging the deal for Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard King.
Bobby also stated his belief that ideologues had taken over the regulators still investigating the acquisition, namely the FTC, EU, and CMA.
In Bobby’s words, as reported by Video Games Chronicle:
“Suddenly, Sony’s entire leadership team stopped talking to anyone at Microsoft. I think this is all Sony just trying to sabotage the transaction.
The whole idea that we are not going to support a PlayStation or that Microsoft would not support the PlayStation, it is absurd.”
In spite of his belligerence, Kotick remains confident that the acquisition will push through. He revealed that Microsoft hired Beth Wilkinson to fight the suit FTC’s Lina Khan brought to block the acquisition.
Beth Wilkinson is a giant in the US legal world, whose renown exceeds those of video games. She is most famous for successfully getting the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh executed. She also involved herself in the Hillary Clinton email case, Michael Flynn case, Washington Football Team harassment case, and the prosecution of narcoterrorist Dandeny Muñoz Mosquera.
Beth Wilkinson was hired by the FTC itself in 2012 to lead antitrust investigations into Google. Here’s what Bobby has to say about her role in the case:
“She feels like if she is going to have to litigate against the FTC, she will absolutely crush them.” As we had previously covered, another antitrust lawyer expressed their legal opinion that FTC’s case is based on anecdote, and would not stand up to scrutiny. FTC’s suit uses Sony’s argument that Call of Duty was such an important game in the industry, that Microsoft purchasing it would be harmful to competition.
There’s reason to believe Bobby’s claims are factual. Late last month, Microsoft accused them of lying to the EU about the deal, talking in bad faith.
For their part, Sony shared this statement when asked to respond:
“We are in contact with Microsoft and have no further comment regarding our private negotiations.”
The way Bobby speaks about Sony here, it sounds like they would not hesitate to stop working with Sony, if PlayStation was not so vital to their business. It even seems possible that Activision could later choose to end bringing Call of Duty and their other games to Sony’s platforms if it became advantageous to them.
Sony seems to have pushed too far in gaining advantage in this situation, as it has soured their relationship with Activision Blizzard King. It should be interesting to see where we all go from here.