Microsoft and Sony continue to fight over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard before the antitrust authorities of the world. In a lengthy statement of over 100 pages to the British authorities, Microsoft has now explained, among other things, why Call of Duty works better as a crossplay title – but Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6 are Xbox and PC exclusive.
What is it about?
- At the beginning of 2022, a jolt went through the gaming world: Xbox parent Microsoft announced that it wanted to acquire the gaming company Activision Blizzard for almost 70 billion dollars
- The PlayStation manufacturer and market competitor Sony does not like this at all – the Japanese company is torpedoing the acquisition and particularly placing the game franchise “Call of Duty” in the spotlight – they say “Call of Duty has no competition, will never have any” and if the acquisition goes through, Microsoft could exploit its market position
- The acquisition has still not been completed to this day and Microsoft regularly issues statements explaining why the purchase of Activision Blizzard would have little impact on the market – CoD would also remain on PlayStation
- Now Microsoft has explained why it would not be worth it for them to bring CoD exclusively to Xbox and PC and why that is not the case for titles like the new Elder Scrolls 6 or Starfield
The information in the article is based on a statement from Microsoft to the British antitrust authority CMA (via https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk).
Elder Scrolls & Starfield are too small compared to Call of Duty
Microsoft tries in parts of the above-mentioned statement to show why it is not in their interest to stop bringing new “Call of Duty” games to PlayStation.
For this, they present examples of other acquisitions from the past – such as that of Mojang, the makers of Minecraft. Microsoft sees Minecraft as the franchise that can best be compared with CoD.
And after the acquisition, the Xbox makers made the game available on more platforms instead of removing them. It says in the report:
- Minecraft is like Call of Duty a globally popular multiplayer franchise with a strong player community and social elements
- At the time of the acquisition, Xbox boss Phil Spencer stated that they planned to continue Minecraft as a cross-platform game
- Minecraft is now playable on over 20 devices – even more are to come in 2023
- Over 275 million units have been sold, the peak of players was reached in August 2021 with over 141 million monthly active users (MAU) in Minecraft
Microsoft assesses Call of Duty the same way as Minecraft – a huge franchise with a large mass market audience.
In contrast are rather smaller titles or new brands – like Elder Scrolls or the new Starfield. The statement shows the following graphic:
Brand assessments are shown in relation to their “exclusivity value”.
- Green: High value of exclusive titles
- Red: Low value of exclusive titles
Supported by many numbers and facts, Microsoft explains why mass-market games like Minecraft and Call of Duty bring better returns when they are available on all platforms.
In contrast are “niche games” with rather small communities like Fallout or Psychonauts 2 – even here, they aim for multiple platforms to offer the rather small titles to as many players as possible.
In the middle stand titles with exclusivity potential like Elder Scrolls, Starfield or also the co-op shooter Redfall. New IPs have a particularly high exclusivity value for Microsoft, as do old games with engaged fans who may also switch platforms to play the new Elder Scrolls.
It is exactly this that they want to clearly differentiate from Call of Duty. The franchise is – just like Minecraft – much more valuable due to its size when offered across all platforms and with crossplay.
Microsoft wants to make it clear: They will treat Call of Duty just like Minecraft – the “somewhat smaller” franchise of Elder Scrolls and new brands like Starfield should be considered separately.
The negotiations surrounding the Microsoft deal with Activision Blizzard continue, with the outcome still uncertain. Everything from a complete approval of the deal to the separation of certain business units seems possible – even a cancellation of the merger cannot be ruled out.
Meanwhile, even other game manufacturers are being dragged into the mudslinging match between Sony and Microsoft: PS5: Sony talks down Battlefield – Xbox belittles Call of Duty: “Neither special nor unique”
