Call of Duty
Sony says that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and by extension the Call of Duty franchise, gives the Xbox maker an unfair advantage. In a recent government filing in Brazil translated by ResetEra, Sony was pretty open about its feelings on the incoming merger, and its big concern is that Microsoft having complete control over Call of Duty in particular will drive consumers to Xbox over PlayStation.
For a merger to be recognized, it must gain approval from nearly 20 regulators from around the world. For Brazil, which began its process in late May, its government asks companies for their thoughts on business mergers in their specific industries, and publishes those opinions online. For the sake of transparency, that information is usually be contrasted with the information provided by the merging companies.
In February, Microsoft said that it would continue to allow Call of Duty games to be released on PlayStation. Its next entry, Call of Modern Warfare II, is set for an October release on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Following that release, the franchise will not release an entry in 2023. This will be the first year that Activision Blizzard does not release an annual Call of Duty game.
Before this merger, Call of Duty titles would release its DLC on Xbox first thanks to a deal between Microsoft and Activision that began in 2010 with the original Call of Duty: Black Ops, and concluded in 2015. PlayStation would have timed exclusivity for DLC in the games beginning with 2015's Call of Duty: Black Ops III, and that deal remains ongoing.
Even with its current Call of Duty deal in place, Sony finds the annual franchise to be "essential" and one that has no real equal. Its argues that while publishers such as Epic
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