Sony Ordered to Reveal Trade Secrets to Microsoft
Sony has been ordered to reveal a number of trade secrets to its largest rival as a direct result of its continued opposition to Microsoft's proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard. This is arguably the largest consequence of Sony's ongoing pushback against Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition to date.
The Japanese gaming giant has been the largest opponent of the consolidation ever since Microsoft announced its provisional buyout agreement with the World of Warcraft maker in early 2022. Following a plethora of regulatory hearings the world over and even some memes throwing shade at Sony straight from Activision's C-suite, Microsoft subpoenaed its rival in mid-January 2023, requesting access to years of sensitive company filings, including platform exclusivity deals and other trade secrets. The motion for disclosure was filed as part of a fact discovery stage in Microsoft's pending trial with the US Federal Trade Commission, who sued to block the Activision Blizzard purchase on antitrust grounds in December 2022.
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A newly surfaced administrative ruling revealed that Microsoft's subpoena has been granted as of late February, in spite of Sony's creative protests. As a result, the Xbox rival will have to provide Microsoft with exclusivity deals and four years' worth of other company records that the defense claims will help it make a case for why its proposed acquisition should go through. Microsoft initially requested all of Sony's exclusivity deals dating back ten years, but the FTC limited the scope of the required disclosure to commitments signed since 2019 after the Japanese company argued it would have to
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