Sony Believes Microsoft Could Purposefully Sabotage Call Of Duty

The corporate battle over Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues with Sony sharing a new concern over the implications of the deal.

The internet has been going wild since the news broke of Microsoft's intended purchase in January 2022 and governments and rival companies have been taking note of the development. In several countries, regulatory agencies concerned with ensuring free and fair business competition have been evaluating the deal to determine if Microsoft acquiring the major developer and publisher would constitute the formation of a monopoly and harm the video game market and consumers. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission has been researching the deal and it's still unclear what course it will ultimately take on the issue. In the United Kingdom both sides of the argument are predicting doom as the Competition and Markets Authority has taken up the case.

Much of the debate hinges on Sony's concerns about the future of "Call of Duty." Sony has noted that, if Microsoft owned Activision Blizzard, it would also be in charge of the popular shooter franchise and could make it an Xbox exclusive going forward, harming PlayStation sales and gamers. While Microsoft has claimed it has no intention of removing the series from PlayStation, Sony is still raising the issue with regulators and is now putting a new twist on these concerns.

In a new statement about the UK's Competition and Market Authority's findings  Sony has suggested that, even if Microsoft were to continue to release "Call of Duty" games for the PlayStation, it could subtly change them to make the game less appealing on that platform. By allowing bugs to remain in the PlayStation version, Microsoft could technically honor its promise to keep the series on the console while making Xbox the undoubtedly superior choice for "Call of Duty" fans. Such actions, Sony claims, would be harder for regulators to detect, thus allowing Microsoft to damage its competition without facing consequences for its actions.

Both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have continued to claim that they have no intention of using "Call of Duty" to attack Sony and Activision Blizzard, and it's unclear what's true and what's business in the case. Still, Sony has not budged from its position and regulators are apparently taking these concerns into account.

UK regulators will not be releasing a decision until April and the case before the FTC in the United States is still ongoing. It remains to be seen whether or not Sony's fears sway any government rulings.