Microsoft’s latest attempt to keep its Xbox Activision deal moving is to offer some concessions to regulators in order to help push the deal to get approved. The company is now reportedly working on contractual agreements that would secure certain IPs on the PlayStation platform for a set number of years. Reuters claims that Microsoft is working on an agreement to keep all Activision games on PlayStation for the next 10 years. The company hopes that this concession will help the EU regulators approve the deal.
Last week we reported that the FTC was set to file a lawsuit against Microsoft in regard to the company’s Activision purchase. Microsoft originally set out to purchase Activision last year for $69 billion but has hit various speed bumps since the announcement was made. The biggest issues surround the company’s size and its intention to absorb one of the biggest video game publishers in the world. Regulators aren’t happy about it for various reasons.
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Sony has also pushed back on the deal saying that it isn’t a healthy one for the industry. Major concerns surrounding the Call of Duty series have also been put under the spotlight. Sony says that Microsoft’s control over Call of Duty and other Activision IPs will only hurt the gaming industry.
Microsoft’s solution to these problems is to now offer concessions to the regulators. One of which is to offer Sony a 10-year licensing deal to Activision games. While the contract details are still scarce, Reuters claims that Microsoft will offer Sony a 10-year deal across Activision games including Call of Duty. This means that the company will be legally bound to release Activision titles on the PlayStation platform for the next 10 years.
This kind of backtracks Microsoft’s original promise though. Xbox head Phil Spencer originally claimed that Microsoft had no intention of ever moving Call of Duty off the PlayStation platform. However, this 10-year deal would mean that after the contract ends, the company would be able to take it away.
So at the moment, this concession isn’t a remedy to the problem. In fact, it will unlikely prevent the FTC from going ahead with its antitrust lawsuit. The lawsuit will see the Federal Trade Commission in the United States block the $69 billion deal until Microsoft is able to legally fight all the issues surrounding the purchase.
Source: Reuters
