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Microsoft is trying to bring “Call of Duty” to PlayStation if its acquisition deal with Activision Blizzard pushes through. It was reported that the Redmond, Washington-based tech firm offered a 10-year contract to make the said game title’s releases available on Sony’s video gaming console.
Microsoft is planning to make the release of “Call of Duty” games to PlayStation on the same day that it arrives on Xbox. As per Reuters, Jim Ryan, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s president and chief executive officer, said in September that Microsoft’s earlier offer to keep the game on PS for three years after its agreement expires was not enough so now the company is offering a 10-year deal.
In any case, Microsoft’s new offer to Sony comes amid increasing regulatory scrutiny for its $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard. The transaction was initially made in January and since then, regulatory boards in the United States, the EU, and Britain have been watching the deal, with the Xbox maker criticizing the acquisition and even calling for the regulatory watchdogs to reject it.
“The main supposed potential anti-competitive risk Sony raises is that Microsoft would stop making ‘Call of Duty’ available on the PlayStation,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, told WSJ. “But that would be economically irrational.”
This week, Smith made a 10-year deal offer to Sony so that “Call of Duty” will continue to be on PlayStation even after it successfully acquires Activision Blizzard which is the developer and publisher of the popular game.
Meanwhile, as Sony and Microsoft negotiate, it was reported that the latter made the same offer to Nintendo and successfully reached a 10-year deal to bring “Call of Duty” to the Japanese console brand.
The company revealed the deal on Tuesday and this will make sure that the game will be on Nintendo if its buyout of Activision Blizzard is approved. The deal is still pending regulatory approval.
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