Sony opposes Microsoft’s Activision acquisition, says it could sabotage Call of Duty on PlayStation

bgr.in:

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of game developer Activision Blizzard has been in the news for quite some time. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opposed the deal since the beginning by contending that the deal could stifle competition and hurt gamers who couldn’t afford more afford to buy more expensive gaming consoles. Microsoft, on its part, has tried to placate CMA’s concerns by signing 10-years-long binding agreement with Nintendo and Nvidia for bringing Activision’s gaming catalogue to Nintendo Switch and Nvidia’s GeForce NOW in exchange for their support over its Activision acquisition deal. However, one company that has vehemently opposed the deal is Sony. Also Read — Sony PS5 restock date announced: When, where to buy PlayStation 5 in India

Now, in a more detailed letter to the CMA, Sony has detailed a host of reasons why Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision could be harmful for the competition. Also Read — Microsoft introduces AI-powered 'Dynamics 365 Copilot'

Sony, in its letter to the CMA, has said that if the deal goes through, Microsoft, could intentionally or unintentionally, degrade the quality and performance of Call of Duty on PlayStation compared to Xbox. The company has also contended that post the deal, Microsoft could release PlayStation version of Call of Duty (CoD) where bugs and errors emerge only on the game’s final level or after later updates. Even if these bugs are resolved, it would take time by which gamers would have lost faith in PlayStation for offering a quality CoD experience. Also Read — Intel's next-gen desktop processors may support Windows 12: Report

Here are snippets of Sony’s letter to the CMA

a) As the PFs recognise, Microsoft could deploy multiple