Microsoft seeks Sony secrets for FTC defense
A court filing reveals that Microsoft has served its rival Sony with a subpoena to help bolster its defense against a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard (thanks, VGC).
Arguing that this deal would hurt competition on the market for video games, the FTC seeks to stop Microsoft from taking over the publisher of games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush.
The Xbox producer believes that Sony’s game production pipeline for PlayStation is relevant to this case and wants to take a look into this information, which the company is unlikely to be happy to share with its rival. Sony has until January 27, 2023, to respond to the filing in any way.
Sony has emerged as the chief opponent of Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, fearing to lose Call of Duty as one of the big drivers for PlayStation sales in case Microsoft ever decides to make it an exclusive.
Microsoft has since made many arguments against those fears, saying Call of Duty is not as irreplaceable as Sony claims by pointing out at Nintendo’s success without the series, as well as offering a deal that would guarantee the first-person shooter games to be released on PlayStation on equal terms with Xbox for the next ten years after the acquisition. Nintendo has already accepted the same deal.
The Xbox maker also pointed towards Sony’s own exclusivity practices, claiming that the PlayStation producer blocked third-party developers from releasing their games on Xbox Game Pass.
If Microsoft and the FTC can’t reach a settlement soon, the case will go to trial in August 2023. Regulators in the UK and the EU also have expressed their skepticism regarding the deal, seeking concessions and guarantees from Microsoft.
