Sony Is Trying to "Sabotage" Xbox's Activision Acquisition, Claims Activision CEO
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick believes PlayStation owner Sony is trying to "sabotage" Xbox's acquisition of Activision. In early 2022, Xbox announced that it was intending to purchase Call of Duty publisher Activision for just shy of $70 billion. Given Call of Duty is such an entertainment juggernaut and Activision holds a lot of weight in this industry, the deal was a bit controversial. If it goes through, it will be the most expensive gaming acquisition to date. However, there are a lot of roadblocks for this deal. Regulators such as the FTC are making efforts to block the deal from going through, partially at the request of Sony who is unhappy with the deal. Sony fears that Xbox could make Call of Duty, one of the biggest franchises in gaming, exclusive to its platforms. Xbox has tried to ease concerns by proposing a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation with the option to extend it later, but Sony has rejected this.
When speaking to Financial Times (via CharlieIntel), Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stated that things have gotten to the point where Sony isn't even talking to Microsoft any longer. Kotick went on to claim that he believes Sony is trying to sabotage the acquisition by not playing ball. He also scoffed at the idea that Microsoft wouldn't support Call of Duty on PlayStation.
"Suddenly, Sony's entire leadership team stopped talking to anyone at Microsoft. I think this is all Sony just trying to sabotage the transaction. The whole idea that we are not going to support a PlayStation or that Microsoft would not support the PlayStation, it is absurd."
Microsoft has published games on PlayStation before, namely Minecraft and has continued to support some online games like The Elder Scrolls Online on the platform. Given the scale of Call of Duty both in terms of budget and sales, it would really only make sense for Call of Duty to continue on PlayStation if only to secure more money. Either way, it looks like it'll be a while before this whole deal gets sorted out.
Do you think PlayStation's concerns are valid? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.