(New York) Microsoft, which wants to get its hands on video game publisher Activision Blizzard, and Sony have reached a “binding agreement” to keep the famous Call of Duty game on Playstation consoles, the American giant announced on Sunday .
“We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and Playstation have signed a binding agreement to retain Call of Duty on Playstation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard,” tweeted Phil spencer, head of Microsoft’s video game division. .
“We look forward to that future where gamers around the world have more choices to play their favorite games,” he said.
Microsoft, which markets the Xbox console, announced in January 2022 the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for a record $69 billion, but this project remains in the crosshairs of competition authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom. United.
Regulators are particularly concerned that the move could allow Microsoft to lock down access to Activision Blizzard games – which also include the highly lucrative World of Warcraft and Candy Crush – on competitors’ platforms.
“Since day one of this acquisition, we have worked to address the concerns of regulators, game platforms and publishers, and consumers,” Microsoft Chairman Brad Smith said Sunday, retweeting Microsoft’s message. Phil Spencer.
“Even once we cross the finish line with the approval of this transaction, we will remain engaged to ensure Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and to more consumers than ever before,” he said. he continued.
In December, Mr. Spencer reported that Microsoft had “committed to providing Call of Duty to Nintendo for ten years” after the Activision integration.
He also told Bloomberg that an agreement similar to the one with Nintendo had been offered to Sony, the maker of the PlayStation – the best-selling console on the market – which strongly opposed the Microsoft transaction- Activision initially.
This acquisition would make Microsoft the world’s third-largest video game player in terms of revenue behind Tencent and Sony, moving ahead of Apple.
