The fate of the deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is not yet decided
PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan testified before the FTC in a case involving Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard. Ryan did not attend the trial, but provided a pre-recorded video of his testimony.
In this video, he raised many questions regarding the deal with Microsoft, but not only. For example, Ryan noted that for the entire period of sales of the PlayStation 5, there were only three months in 2021 when the Xbox Series overtook the Sony console in sales. But that was due to the shortage of PS5. After that, according to Sony, their console has always been in the lead.
Sony fears the release of Call of Duty in Game Pass
As for the deal, Ryan confirmed what he had previously said that he was not interested in Microsoft’s offer for a 10-year release date for Call of Duty on the PlayStation, as he simply wants to block the deal, deeming it anti-competitive.
Sony is afraid that Call of Duty games, which are extremely popular and bring in a lot of money, will start coming to Game Pass if the deal is approved, which will negatively affect PS5 sales.
Ryan also mentioned the exclusivity of the upcoming Starfield game. He stated that he did not like this very exclusivity, but in this case he does not consider the corresponding actions of Microsoft to be anti-competitive.
From the rest, we can note the information that the number of subscribers to the PlayStation Now cloud service is 3 million people, and Sony itself believes that cloud gaming technologies will become really important for the market between 2025 and 2035.
