There is plenty of chatter online regarding the future of Activision Blizzard. The company is sought after by Microsoft, and after making a massive bid to acquire the company, it’s been anything but smooth. Regulators are involved to see if Microsoft can go on with the acquisition or not. But one voice, in particular, has been rather vocal about not seeing Activision Blizzard fall under the Xbox umbrella. That, of course, is Sony. With the focus on Call of Duty, in particular, Microsoft has recently stated to CMA that the contract deal provided for Sony would ensure that there is more than enough time to create an alternative to the Call of Duty franchise.
While Activision Blizzard has several IPs under their control, Call of Duty has become the primary focus of this acquisition. It’s a tough move right now to sway regulators’ decisions one way or another. There are several parties that have given their thoughts on Activision Blizzard potentially being acquired by Microsoft. Likewise, with the focus so heavily on the future of Call of Duty, Microsoft has made several contract deals with rival competitors. These deals would allow Microsoft to acquire Call of Duty but also provide the game on other platforms for a full decade.
Likewise, it’s noted that there wouldn’t be any incentive to acquire the Xbox version of Call of Duty games either. Since there is no exclusive content on the platform, each release will play the same across the board. But in a recent comment from Microsoft to the CMA, thanks to VGC for reporting, we’re finding that Microsoft has told the CMA that a ten-year contract deal for Sony would have more than enough time to create an alternative FPS for their platform.
Ten years is a rather long time, as this would also take the franchise into the next-generation console platform. Likewise, we would also see several Call of Duty games released and supported for the platform. But again, we’re left waiting to see what these regulators decide on. It’s clear that the CMA knows just how important Call of Duty is in terms of the FPS genre. But they are likely well aware of the efforts Microsoft is making to ensure the franchise is available for competitor platforms for an ample amount of time.
