The Activision Blizzard Acquisition Will be Good for Gamers and Sony

Whilst Microsoft and Sony going back and forth with various self-serving claims has been cause for some amusement, thankfully the end is in sight. The job of regulators is to protect consumers, not the market leader or a trillion dollar company masquerading as a plucky underdog.

Even if the deal is blocked, you have to imagine Activision will be in no mood to renew Sony’s marketing deal for Call Of Duty. The more likely scenario is the deal closes. It has become increasingly difficult for regulators to argue against Microsoft’s assurances over Call Of Duty exclusivity.

There has been much said (by Sony) over concerns of parity for Call Of Duty and Microsoft pointed out that there is no parity at present. PlayStation players benefit from various extras not afforded to Xbox players. Exclusives are one thing, but asking gamers to pay the same amount for a product which is inferior on one platform due to a marketing deal, I cannot get behind. There are more egregious examples than Call Of Duty, but the principle is the same.

Microsoft conceding they would allow Call Of Duty onto Sony’s own subscription service may seem like a major concession. Sony are already reluctant to release day one content, so the prospect of having to put their most profitable game into PlayStation Plus must be the worst case scenario.

Sony is being forced into business practices they don’t want to do. Game Pass is a disruptor to the market, but with Call Of Duty in its portfolio it becomes an even greater threat. Sony wanting the deal blocked outright is therefore understandable. It is patently obvious Microsoft wants Call Of Duty everywhere. Not just to appease regulators, but to increase profits that far outweigh holding onto Call Of Duty for themselves.

The gaming industry is extremely fickle, with no guarantees of success. Huge franchises like Halo can see a fall from grace, just the same as games like Fortnite can emerge from nowhere to become mega hits. Even the fluctuation of Call Of Duty sales year-on-year suggest popularity isn’t permanent.

I want the Activision Blizzard deal to conclude in Microsoft’s favour for a number of reasons, but primarily because Xbox being more competitive with Sony should, in theory, benefit gamers in general. I want Sony to diversify their content and bring back franchises like SOCOM, Resistance: Fall Of Man, or even have another attempt at MAG. They have Bungie at their disposal, there’s no excuse why they can’t develop a great first person shooter to compete on their own platform.
With Bobby Kotick out the door, I’m optimistic Microsoft would revive some franchises. I had initially hoped we would see less of Call Of Duty, with the cadence of release changed to two years. But with all those 10-year deals in place, that unfortunately looks less likely.

Microsoft almost need the Activision Blizzard deal out of necessity. Game Pass is their main strategy, so bolstering it with regular content is the goal. The upcoming release schedule for Xbox is looking far more promising. If Call Of Duty becomes part of Game Pass, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be pleased. I will still be able to play Call Of Duty on my PlayStation. More tantalising, is the prospect of playing Warzone on Nintendo Switch 2.

In terms of impact upon gamers, I really don’t see much of a change, other than Call Of Duty’s player-base increasing. Gamers need to stop worrying about the bank balances of these companies and only focus on their own finances. Phil Spencer hyping up the latest Call Of Duty like it’s the second coming will ruffle some feathers at first. Then we might actually witness somebody playing Call Of Duty on Boosteroid out in the wild and wonder what all the fuss was about?