Microsoft and Sony have been going back and forth for a while now, taking jabs at one another especially when it comes to the state of Call of Duty should the Activision Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft go through. In response to Sony’s own statements on the matter, Microsoft has now claimed that its console competitor has “chosen to block Game Pass from PlayStation.”
With the Competition and Markets Authority investigating the desired acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, the console manufacturer was given the opportunity to explain the benefits of the acquisition, with Microsoft saying (as reported by The Verge’s Tom Warren):
“Xbox plans to bring Activision Blizzard content to its multi-game subscription, Game Pass. This will benefit garners, boosting the value of the subscription and expanding access to Activision Blizzard content. Activision Blizzard has not allowed its content to be included in third-party subscriptions in any meaningful way in the past. Again, this increased competition has not been welcomed by the market leader Sony, which has elected to protect its revenues from sales of newly released games, rather than offer gamers the choice of accessing them via its subscription, PlayStation Plus.”
Addressing Call of Duty specifically, Microsoft continued, “Nor is there any basis for the idea that acquiring Call of Duty could ‘tip' subscription services in Xbox's favour. Sony has chosen to block Game Pass from PlayStation, so it is not available on PlayStation. As all games that are available on Game Pass are also available to purchase, PlayStation gamers will continue to have the ability to buy Call of Duty on PlayStation. And doing so will still cost less than the cost of switching by buying a new Xbox console.”
It is interesting to see the ways in which both console manufacturers are approaching this current situation, with fewer pleasantries than either company normally expresses. Then again, this deal is one of the biggest in the history of gaming, and so its results will be highly impactful regardless of how this all ends.
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KitGuru says: What do you think of Microsoft’s statement? Do you agree with their position? Do you think Microsoft will be allowed to acquire Activision Blizzard? Let us know down below.