Published - March 09, 2023 @ 12:44 PM (EET)

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Sony Group Corp. (NYSE:SONY) laid out more concerns to the UK's antitrust watchdog about Microsoft Corp.'s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, now suggesting that Microsoft could kneecap (although unintentionally) the performance and quality of "Call of Duty" on PlayStation, with fans moving over to Xbox.

Addressing these concerns raised by Britain over the $69 billion takeover of the game maker, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) said it would license Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty" to Sony for ten years.

"Microsoft has no intention of engaging in input foreclosure or of making Call of Duty exclusive to the Xbox platform," the company said. "To the contrary, since day one, Microsoft has been focused on using this acquisition to bring more games to more people on more platforms and devices than ever before, to bring more competition into gaming than ever before."

Microsoft added that it believed that the criteria for the CMA to consider behavioral remedies, such as those offered, had been met.

Last month, Microsoft made a similar deal with Nvidia Corp's (NASDAQ:NVDA) gaming platform, depending on whether it gets the go-ahead for the much-contested acquisition.

WHY IT MATTERS

In provisional findings in February, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority said the deal could substantially lower competition for UK gamers, suggesting remedies, including selling the best-selling Call of Duty game or blocking the deal altogether.

To date, antitrust sentiment on the deal has primarily emphasized two areas in which Microsoft could potentially abuse market power; restricting access to Activision's yearly best-seller videogame series and the prospect of leveraging access to Activision's (NASDAQ:ATVI) games to strengthen Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming service at the expense of rivals.

The gaming industry's biggest-ever deal in January 2022 is also facing scrutiny in the United States and Europe. People familiar with the matter said earlier this month Microsoft expects to secure EU antitrust approval with its offer of licensing deals to rivals.