Activision Blizzard Deal: Gabe Newell Considers CoD Guarantees Unnecessary – News

In addition, competition watchdogs in the US, EU and other regions are looking into Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard for a record $68.7 billion. The US agency FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has recently shown signs in favor of Microsoft. The New York Post quoted a former FTC chairman as saying there’s a 70 percent chance the agency won’t object.

In the past, the relevant authorities have also asked competitors on the market for statements. Sony particularly emphasized the importance of the brand Call of Duty (the most recent offshoot Modern Warfare 2 in the single player test) and that their potential platform exclusivity would be anti-competitive. Since then, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has repeatedly emphasized in public that it would not be the best strategy for the group to remove Call of Duty from other platforms. Rather, you want as with Minecraft bring the title to even more platforms after the Mojang acquisition. These efforts are not unlikely to aim to allay concerns raised by Sony.

Spencer recently announced on Twitter that it has entered into a 10-year agreement with Nintendo to bring the shooter series to Nintendo platforms – provided the merger with Activision Blizzard is successful. Opposite to kotaku Nintendo confirmed Spencer’s statement but did not comment further. In complete contrast to Gabe Newellthe figurehead of Steam operator Valve, who is very relaxed about the whole topic:

We’re excited that Microsoft plans to continue using Steam to reach Call of Duty customers once their Activision acquisition is complete. […] Microsoft offered us a long-term agreement on Call of Duty and even sent a draft. But that wasn’t necessary for us because a) we don’t believe that any partner has to commit to an agreement that obliges them to release games on Steam in the distant future; b) Phil and the gaming team at Microsoft have always followed what they told us and we trust their intentions; and c) we think Microsoft has all the motivation it needs to be present on the platforms and devices where customers want Call of Duty.

Spencer also publicly commented that in the past there had been an offer to Sony to keep Call of Duty on Playstation for three years, which Sony Interactive CEO Jim Ryan described as inappropriate in an interview.