Microsoft wants Activision Blizzard to acquire for $68 billion. First of all, it requires the approval of various regulatory authorities, which are taking a detailed look at the market situation.

“Call of Duty” in particular seems to tip the scales. Microsoft did assure in recent months that the next parts of the “Call of Duty” series will be offered on the PlayStation consoles despite the acquisition. However, the established “The Elder Scrolls” series, which Microsoft snatched up together with Bethesda, shows that PlayStation players sometimes have to do without new parts.

In order to assess the impact of a Microsoft takeover of Activision Blizzard, companies in the industry are also being surveyed. These include Ubisoft, Amazon, Google and Sony, among others, who were given the opportunity to give their perspective on things during an interview with the Brazilian regulator. In the Resetera forum and on VGC the answers were summarized.

Sony, in particular, seems to be concerned that “Call of Duty” might cause users to switch to Xbox after the planned acquisition.

“According to a 2019 study, Call of Duty’s importance to entertainment in general is indescribable,” the company said. “The brand was the only video game IP to make it into the top 10 of all entertainment brands among fans, joining the likes of Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.”

“Call of Duty” is therefore so popular that it could influence the choice of console, he added. In addition, the PS5 manufacturer believes that the base consisting of loyal users is so strong that even if a competitor had the budget to develop a similar product, it would not be able to compete with it.

Enormous development resources

According to Sony, about 1,200 people work on each part, each of which requires three to five years of development. And since Activision releases a “Call of Duty” game every year, this involves an “investment of hundreds of millions of dollars” annually.

“Given its plans to hire 2,000 additional developers by 2021, Activision likely expects Call of Duty to be even more successful in the future,” it continued.

According to Sony, no other developer could invest the same level of resources and expertise in game development. And even if the necessary resources were available, it should be noted that Call of Duty is far too entrenched for any competitor to reach that level.

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As a result, it said, players are unlikely to switch to other games because they would “lose the familiarity, skills, and even friends they’ve made playing the game.”

Other publishers are more optimistic

Of course, Sony is eager to keep the “Call of Duty” series on the PlayStation, which could become one of the conditions for the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. With this goal in mind, the company is arguing before regulators.

Other publishers and companies are much more relaxed about the situation. Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple don’t seem too concerned about the acquisition. And publishers like Warner Bros, Bandai Namco, Ubisoft and Riot Games certainly see games that could fill the void of “Call of Duty” and other games from Activision Blizzard.

For example, Ubisoft thinks that Activision Blizzard has no unique games. This is because there is no video game title that is not in close competition, he said. All publishers and games compete for available game time. And no title stands alone in its own genre, he said. A summary of the individual statements you can read here.

Messages on the subject:

But an access restriction would also be a danger for “Call of Duty”, even if the Xbox would have one more purchase argument. Because the size of the community would be radically reduced, so that it would have to be feared that the development efforts and investments of the past years could not be maintained in the medium and long term, which would in turn damage the brand.