A report claims that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan personally visited European Union headquarters to voicePlayStation’s concerns regarding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. EU regulators have dedicated to a thorough investigation of the Activision Blizzard acquisition and its impact on competition in the video game industry.PlayStationhas been a vocal critic of Microsoft’s effort with specific regard to theCall of Dutyfranchise and its eventual availability on Xbox Game Pass.
Microsoft announced that it would be acquiring Activision Blizzard in January, earlier this year, in an all-cash transaction for $68.7 billion. It’s the largest acquisition in the video game industry’s history by multiple times, with the second-largest beingTake-Two’s purchase of Zyngafor $12.7 million. Such a large acquisition has drawn a significant focus from international regulatory bodies questioning whether Activision Blizzard’s purchase is anticompetitive.
RELATED:Xbox Game Pass Plans on Adding Major Activision Blizzard Games, Including Call of Duty
The report comes from Dealreporter, which claims thatJim Ryanpersonally flew to Brussels on September 8 in order to offer PlayStation’s perspective on the acquisition. The exact nature of his visit, who Ryan spoke to, and what he said, have not been clarified. As noted, however, PlayStation has been especially critical of Microsoft’s efforts where the UK and EU will listen. That Ryan took the time to comment personally shows just how seriously PlayStation is taking the situation, even if its priorities are somewhat biased.
It’s unclear at this point in time whether there’s a serious threat to theMicrosoft acquisition of Activision Blizzardor if regulatory bodies are simply doing their due diligence. While Xbox is not the leading video game platform in the world, Microsoft is one of the largest corporations in the world. It’s within reason to ask whether such a large acquisition is anticompetitive, whether Microsoft is using its size and wealth to take control of an industry.
PlayStation’s argument, as it was made publicly to the UK recently, is that Microsoft’s acquisition of games includingCall of Dutywould have “major negative implications for gamers.” That’s despite promises from Microsoft thatCall of Dutywould remain available on PlayStation consoles years into the future, whichSony described as inadequate.
While it’s inarguable that theCall of Dutyfranchise, as well as all of Activision Blizzard’s games, are very lucrative for PlayStation and losing that would be significantly materially detrimental, some question whether Sony is being hypocritical. Sony has spent years makingexclusivity deals with Activision Blizzard forCall of Dutycontentto gain an advantage over Xbox. That’s beyond the concern of regulatory bodies, however. It remains to be seen whether Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition will be further impeded byPlayStation’s efforts going forward.
MORE:Xbox Acquiring Activision is Going to Be Huge for Classic Call of Duty Games and Xbox Game Pass
