The ongoing saga of the Xbox/Activision Blizzard deal has recently tilted in favor of Microsoft, as the Japan Fair Trade Commission announced its support for the merger, asserting that “Microsoft’s Activision agreement will not impede competition” before concluding its review on the matter.
In response to these developments, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick addressed the situation in a letter sent to Activision employees on Tuesday. He expressed disappointment in Sony’s actions regarding the Xbox/Activision deal, but maintained that the relationship with PlayStation’s parent company would not be adversely affected.
In the letter, Kotick wrote:
We are all aware that our dedicated players would be the first to hold Microsoft responsible for upholding its commitments to content and quality parity. Moreover, our entire team, who work tirelessly to produce the finest games in the industry, are too committed to our players to ever release inferior versions of our games.
Kotick’s mention of “inferior versions of our games” refers to Sony’s allegation that, following the completion of the Xbox/Activision Blizzard deal, Microsoft might intentionally introduce flawed versions of Call of Duty games on PlayStation consoles, rendering the Xbox versions of Call of Duty more enticing for the player base.
Earlier this month, Lulu Cheng Meservey, Activision Blizzard’s EVP of corporate affairs and CCO, claimed on Twitter that SIE president Jim Ryan had informed Microsoft and Activision, “I’m not interested in a new Call of Duty agreement. I simply want to obstruct your merger.”
Meservey also argued that Sony, having been the “preeminent console leader for over a decade,” would receive “significantly better terms” in the Xbox/Activision Blizzard deal than Sony would provide in a similar scenario.
“Microsoft presented Sony (the dominant console leader for over a decade, with an 80% market share) with a 10-year contract on terms far superior to what Sony could ever obtain from us,” Meservey explained. “We have also extended guaranteed long-term access to Call of Duty for Sony. Yet, they persist in declining. What is the reason?”
Kotick also touched on Sony’s intention to hinder the Xbox/Activision Blizzard deal in his letter, stating, “Sony has even conceded that their actual concern is not a Call of Duty agreement; rather, they would prefer to thwart our merger. This is a clearly disappointing course of action from a partner of almost thirty years, but we will not let Sony’s behavior undermine our enduring relationship.”
Kotick concluded with an assurance:
PlayStation users can trust that we will continue providing the highest quality games on Sony platforms, just as we have since the inception of PlayStation.
