Xbox boss says company its taking "principled path" with Activision Blizzard deal
Xbox chief Phil Spencer has published a letter to explain why the company is buying Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion, claiming the company wants to deliver "gaming for everyone, everywhere."
Spencer said the letter aims to address what the deal means for "the industry, and most importantly, for players." It has been published on the same day that UK competition regulator the CMA raised questions about what it means for Microsoft's rivals, suggesting the purchase might "harm" competitors like Sony and Nintendo.
In a bid to quell the concerns of consumers and regulators, Spencer said Microsoft will pursue a "principled path" if the deal goes through by allowing major Activision Blizzard franchises like Call of Duty available to release on rival platforms.
"We will pursue a principled path. We've heard that this deal might take franchises like Call of Duty away from the places where people currently play them. That's why, as we've said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere," wrote Spencer, who also confirmed Microsoft intends to bring franchises like Overwatch, Diablo, and Call of Duty to Xbox Game Pass.
"We will continue to enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices. We know players benefit from this approach because we’ve done it with Minecraft, which continues to be available on multiple platforms and has expanded to even more since Mojang joined Microsoft in 2014."
The Xbox boss said the company is also committed to letting developers choose how to distribute their games, and will engage with regulators with a spirit of "transparency and openness" as they probe the acquisition and
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