At the start of this year, Microsoft released a statement announcing the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for a hefty $68.7 billion, but the deal is yet to go through as it has to be approved by about 20 regulars worldwide alongside FTC (USA) and the European Commission.
A Resetera user named “Idas” spotted that one of these commissions is in Brazil, and the Brazillian regulator is all about transparency, allowing anyone to read about the process online. The regulator asks questions to third parties like Apple, Google, Meta, Warner Bros, Bandai Namco, Ubisoft, Riot Games, and of course Sony; their answers to the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal are public for the most part, and besides Sony, the others don’t seem to be much worried. However, the story is different for the Japan-based giant, and rightly so.
Sony’s main worry seems to be around Activision’s Call of Duty franchise, as it’s one of the biggest third-party money makers for the company, if not the biggest. According to what the Brazillian government published, Sony thinks Call of Duty as a franchise influences users’ console choices, and Call of Duty is a genre of its own. The company, therefore, finds the deal an unfair competitive edge for the Microsoft side and fears that Call of Duty will become a PC and Xbox exclusive in time.
Sony says Call of Duty influences players’ console choices
PlayStation bosses seem to be exclusively worried about losing Call of Duty on their console in the near future. The company may have other worries too, of course, but their answers to the questionnaire are primarily focused on Activision’s most valuable asset.
Sony says according to a 2019 study, Call of Duty was the only video game brand that made it into the top 10 of all entertainment brands, joining the likes of the Lord of The Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Games of Thrones, and others.
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The Big Tech company says no other game series can reach as high as Call of Duty does, and adds that even if a competitor had a similar budget and work power, they could not compete with Call of Duty, as the franchise has an ingrained loyal community, and even the worst performing CoD games —revenue-wise— are breaking into the top 10 charts.
The console maker goes on to explain that it takes three to five years to develop a Call of Duty game, and each release has about 1,200 people developing it and approximately 1,500 involved in publishing and worldwide distribution. Sony bosses add that Activision is expecting an even brighter future for the franchise as they’re recruiting additional human power in huge numbers.
“No rival can catch up to Call of Duty”
Call of Duty alone is bigger than most other AAA game studios says Sony, and from an objective point, they’re not wrong. The company comments that each Call of Duty entry has been the top-selling game for almost an entire year, before the next game in the series launches. Sony simply believes Activision’s production force and loyal fanbase can not be matched, even if the same budget and effort were put in by another company.
Sony authorities continue with the following comment, stating that even the closest rival to CoD, the Battlefield franchise, is miles behind:
“It is synonymous with first-person shooter games and essentially defines that category,” it said. “This is also demonstrated by player engagement on social media: Call of Duty has over 24 million followers on Facebook versus 7 million for Battlefield; and over 12 million followers on Instagram versus 2 million for Battlefield.
“To say the least, players would be unlikely to switch to alternative games, as they would lose that familiarity, those skills, and even the friends they made playing the Call of Duty games.”
Sony closes its arguments by stating that even “a weaker release” like Call of Duty: Vanguard outperformed most other titles by a large margin and remained a best-seller for the entire year. PlayStation maker says even a bad year or two don’t shake the loyalty of the fans.
Xbox Gaming’s boss Phil Spencer said they would honor the existing deal and keep Call of Duty a multiplatform title, including PlayStation, after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes. Having said that, Microsoft owning the franchise would mean Sony would be at its rival’s mercy for its most profitable third-party game.
NEXT: Call of Duty Mobile’s lifetime revenue crosses $1.5 billion
