Microsoft says if every CoD player on PlayStation defected to Xbox, PS would still have a larger userbase
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the UK is concerned by Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. While the announcement of the purchase was made in January, the deal hasn't been allowed to finalize, as various regulators voice their objections and worries about monopolization in the gaming industry. Currently, the CMA rejected the Microsoft-Activision buyout, and the process has progressed to a "second phase" of investigation. While this is ongoing, Microsoft is defending its decision by making a claim that PlayStation would not be put at risk by the purchase.
The CMA is concerned that having full control over this powerful catalogue, especially in light of Microsoft's already strong position in gaming consoles, operating systems, and cloud infrastructure, could result in Microsoft harming consumers by impairing Sony's – Microsoft's closest gaming rival – ability to compete as well as that of other existing rivals and potential new entrants who could otherwise bring healthy competition through innovative multi-game subscriptions and cloud gaming services.
The CMA believes that PlayStation would be put "at risk" by Microsoft owning the Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Crash Bandicoot publisher, but Microsoft says otherwise, to the point of stating that even if every single Call of Duty player on PlayStation consoles "defected" to the Xbox platform, PlayStation's userbase would still be "significantly" larger. However, Microsoft did not share any proof of its claim, but simply said that PlayStation has a 150-million-strong player base, while Xbox has an install base of about 64 million. They also mentioned that PlayStation has a definitive stranglehold on the market, because they have the ability to raise prices on their hardware, while still remaining competitive with Xbox.
Despite Microsoft's claims that they won't make Call of Duty, or any of Activision's franchises Xbox exclusives, at least for the time being, the CMA says that there's no evidence that Microsoft wouldn't backpedal on that decision, and that they have a history of doing that exact thing in the past. For now, the investigation will continue until its final report, which will take place in March 2023.
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