PlayStation boss reportedly told Activision execs "I don't want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger"

gamesradar.com:

An Activision exec claims that Sony chief Jim Ryan said he had no interest in an improved deal over Call of Duty and was simply focused on blocking the Xbox Activision deal.

In a tweet yesterday, Activision chief communication officer Lulu Cheng Meservey - who has previously been posting through it in an attempt to help pass the merger - posed a rhetorical question: "We've [...] offered Sony guaranteed long-term access to Call of Duty. But they keep refusing. Why?"

The CEO of SIE answered that question in Brussels.In his words: "I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.”March 8, 2023

According to Cheng Meservey, the answer to that question was provided on February 21, when Microsoft and Sony's executives met in Brussels, reportedly in an attempt to hammer out details of the deal. On that day, Microsoft confirmed its deal to bring Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch, and announced an additional, similar agreement with Nvidia GeForce Now, but it seems they didn't make much headway with Sony. Cheng Meservey claims that Ryan told Xbox and Activision that "I don't want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger."

Microsoft has provided Sony with multiple deals over Call of Duty, and while a 'forever' agreement will likely never be on the table, Phil Spencer has suggested he's happy to offer Sony a longer-term deal if that'll help swing things, but Ryan's comments suggest Sony isn't interested in giving up any market share if it can avoid doing so.

The fate of the merger is still unclear. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has suggested that Xbox could get the deal over the line by agreeing to sell off parts of Activision-Blizzard, but that's an idea that Microsoft