Sony Ordered To Reveal Third-Party Exclusivity Deals As Part Of FTC's Activision Blizzard Buyout Lawsuit
Sony will need to produce all of its documents related to third-party deals from 2019 to the present, despite the company's attempts to have the request thrown out, a Federal Trade Commission judge has ruled.
Microsoft subpoenaed copies of every Sony third-party licensing agreement from 2012 to the present, as well as documents and communications related to Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan's declaration to the FTC. This comes as part of its defense-building process ahead of the FTC's lawsuit against Microsoft regarding its attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard in a $69 billion deal.
Sony argued that such a request had no value and that producing the documents would be a burden. Sony also requested to not produce files handled by specific Sony employees, with the argument being that some of those documents were in Japanese and would be too difficult to search through.
A judge denied both of those requests in a newly filed order, but did limit the scope of Microsoft's document request. Sony will only need to produce documents from 2019 forward.
Microsoft has argued that since many of the FTC's concerns about the Activision Blizzard acquisition stem from the effect such a deal would have on exclusivity deals and competition in the video game industry, it is important to know the extent Sony's own deals have on the industry as well. Based on the judge's ruling, it seems the FTC agrees.
Sony, along with other players in the industry, has spoken out against Microsoft's planned acquisition, saying the theoretical removal of major Activision Blizzard franchises like Call of Duty from Sony's PlayStation platform would cause harm to the industry, reduce competition, and give an unfair advantage to Microsoft's
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