Sony and Microsoft have signed an agreement that states that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation gaming consoles , following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
" We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard ," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said on Sunday.
Activision is the creator of the popular video game Call of Duty. Regulators around the world have expressed significant concern about the enormous power Microsoft could gain in the gamingif its acquisition of Activision were approved.
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Microsoft is behind the Xbox and is a key competitor to Sony and PlayStation. So regulators, as well as other gaming companies, feared that Microsoft could keep popular games on its own consoles and displace Sony (and others ).
Microsoft signed the deal with Sony regarding Call of Duty to alleviate concerns from authorities. The company has signed similar agreements in the past.
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has also expressed concerns about competition . Ryan said that Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard would not be good for competition.
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Microsoft vice president Brad Smithsaid on Twitter that even after a potential deal closes, Microsoft "will remain focused on ensuring Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before."
The acquisition is not certain to close, although the chances are higher after a federal judge ruled to block the Federal Trade Commission from temporarily blocking the deal. The FTC had sued to stop the deal in federal court in San Francisco in July, but failed to convince the judge that the deal would pose a risk to competition.
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In addition, regulators in the EU signed off on the deal in May, while the UK Competition and Markets Authority recently said it was ready to negotiate with Microsoft on the terms of the deal. It is worth noting that the British authority initially did not agree with the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. It had said in April that this deal endangers the emerging cloud-gaming market by creating a monopoly. It added that, upon completion of the acquisition, Microsoft would have a market share of between 60 and 70%, which would significantly weaken competition in this important growing market.
The two companies intend to complete their transaction by Tuesday, July 18.
Source: www.cnbc.com
