PlayStation Boss Was Sure Call of Duty Wouldn’t Have Been Made Exclusive from Day One, Alleges Microsoft

wccftech.com:

Following the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction against the closing of the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard $68.7 billion merger, Microsoft lawyers have submitted their defense, alleging (among many other counterpoints) that even PlayStation boss Jim Ryan was immediately sure Call of Duty wouldn't have been made exclusive to Xbox consoles.

While the exact quote Ryan reportedly said is redacted, the context is abundantly clear. Of course, since the statement was private, there is no way to know whether Microsoft is telling the truth here.

First, there is no evidence to support the FTC's central theory that Xbox will take COD away from PlayStation. The FTC does not cite a single document or witness even suggesting this will happen. On the contrary, Jim Ryan, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment ("SIE") and the chief commercial opponent of this deal, said privately on the day it was announced [redacted].

Still, assuming that could be true, it would be a stark contrast to Sony's fierce opposition against the merger that primarily hinged on the potential removal of Call of Duty from PlayStation. In a document submitted to the Brazilian regulator (which later approved the merger without requesting any concessions), Sony claimed that Activision's prized first-person shooter franchise would be irreplaceable.

Jim Ryan himself once rejected Microsoft's initial offer to extend the presence of Call of Duty on PlayStation platforms for three years as inadequate on many levels. Later, Microsoft offered a 10-year deal to release Call of Duty on multiple platforms, such as Steam (which didn't feel the need to sign it), Nintendo (which signed it), and Sony (which rejected it).

This is, of course, noted by Microsoft's lawyers, who