Activision-Microsoft: Sony laments and Xbox reacts to the Call license…

Following the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, Sony reacted publicly, hoping that certain licenses will remain cross-platform.

The turmoil of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard continues to circle the surface of the PR lake. A takeover that raises many questions about the future of Acti-Blizz’s most prominent franchises, especially monsters call of duty, Overwatch and Diablo. Are these licenses destined to become Xbox exclusives? Will Microsoft revive old glories? Did Sony pundits have a stroke when they heard the news?

Sony’s stock plunged nearly 13% following the announcement of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision. Investors took fright following this announcement, and sold as many of their shares as possible, a symbol of shareholders’ concern, even of their conviction as to the idea that PlayStation could well lose ground against Xbox. . In terms of figures, this 13% represents a capitalization loss of nearly $20 billion… Unheard of for the Japanese firm, which has always been one of the safe bets on the market.

Image of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the aftermath of the acquisition of Activision

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the thinking heads of the Japanese group reacted, but more than timidly. The firm’s spokesperson said:

“We hope Microsoft honors contractual agreements and continues to make Activision’s games cross-platform.”

It is here a question of content exclusivity agreements signed between Activision and Sony for the series Call of Duty. PlayStation players received a number of additional bonuses exclusive to the title Vanguard, compared to Xbox users.

But this laconic sentence also hides an undeniable concern, totally justified, because Activision-Blizzard is the publisher behind some of the most popular PlayStation games. According to the website NDP, specialist in new technologies, the series call of duty holds the top two spots in the top best-selling games in the United States in 2021 on PlayStation, with Vanguard in first place, and Black Ops: Cold War in third place.

VSall of continues to snipe the competition

Phil Spencer, current head of Xbox Game Studios, spoke via social media to clarify Microsoft’s position. He wanted to be reassuring by affirming his intention to respect the distribution contracts already signed prior to the takeover of Activision, and he confirmed that the series COD would continue to roll out to PlayStation :

“I had talks this week with Sony executives. I confirmed our intention to honor all existing agreements upon the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry and we value our relationship.”

Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.

—Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022

PHil Spencer coming home from jogging

Spencer’s reaction is actually quite predictable as there are precedents in recent Microsoft history. After the takeover of Minecraft, the game was maintained on Sony consoles. The same applies to death loop and Ghostwire Tokyo, which retain their PlayStation exclusives despite Xbox’s acquisition of Bethesda.

However, in an interview given to Bloomberg this week, Microsoft made it clear that “certain” Activision-Blizzard games would continue to appear on PlayStation. It is hard to imagine the Redmond firm doing without the financial windfall represented by the exploitation of the license call of duty on PlayStation hardware, at least not immediately.

As long as exclusive contracts continue to run between Sony and Activision, Microsoft will not take the risk of having to pay fines for breach of contract. Such contracts generally last several years. But once these are obsolete, Xbox will have free rein to keep COD in his lap.