Sony Says Microsoft Lied About its Activision Blizzard Concession

Microsoft agreed to make some concessions to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) so that its Activision Blizzard acquisition would be approved, but Sony says it’s a lie.

“Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends,” PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan says. “After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”

To be clear, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has said that he offered to keep Call of Duty—the biggest Activision Blizzard franchise—on PlayStation for 5 years past the current agreement in response to the CMA. (The current agreement covers the next three games, including this year’s Modern Warfare 2.) Apparently, that is not the case.

“I hadn’t intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum,” Ryan added.

This is interesting, of course, but it doesn’t change what should happen, which is that Microsoft continues to keep Activision Blizzard’s games on rival platforms, with no time limit.