Microsoft blasts the very games it wants to buy for billions of dollars

techradar.com:

Microsoft has laid into Activision Blizzard's games in a bid to push through its planned acquisition of the mega-publisher.

After the tech giant announced its intention to purchase Activision Blizzard earlier this year, competition regulators have begun scrutinizing the buyout. In a recent clearance application(opens in new tab) submitted to the New Zealand Commerce Commission, Microsoft tried to justify the acquisition by deliberately knocking Activision Blizzard's games (thanks, RockPaperShotgun(opens in new tab)).

“With respect to Activision Blizzard video games, there is nothing unique about the video games developed and published by Activision Blizzard that is a ‘must-have’ for rival PC and console video game distributors that could give rise to a foreclosure concern,” Microsoft said in the application.

It’s a slightly amusing justification for the buyout. Microsoft will be keen to show regulators that its planned acquisition of one of the biggest video game publishers in the world won’t substantially harm market competition or consumers. It’s done that here by blasting Activision Blizzard's games – slating the very IPs that it wants to buy for a whopping $68 million.

But regulators might not be so easily swayed. Activision's upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the series' battle royale spin-off Call of Duty: Warzone 2 are expected to be among the biggest games of the year.

Speaking to Brazil’s regulatory body in a recent report(opens in new tab), Sony emphasized the dominance that Call of Duty would grant Microsoft over the entire industry. It described Call of Duty as “an essential game” and a “triple-A type that has no rival” (translated through Google).

“Call of Duty is so popular that it influences users'