Microsoft signed a deal to keep the best-selling video game Call of Duty alive on PlayStation consoles. Wire The report says the tech giant is in a bid to persuade regulators to approve its acquisition of the game’s publisher Activision.
The companies have “signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally will have more options to play their favorite games”. , tweeted Phil Spencer, who heads Xbox, a console owned by the tech giant.
Microsoft Vice President and President Brad Smith also announced: “From day one of this acquisition, we are committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers.”
England’s Competition and Markets Authority put a hold on the $69 billion takeover deal because it feared the move could raise the game’s prices and affect competition.
The deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation could further ease concerns about the acquisition’s impact on competition.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argued that the deal would harm consumers, whether they played video games on the console or had a subscription, because Microsoft would have an incentive to drive out rivals such as Sony Group.
To address the FTC’s concerns, Microsoft had previously agreed to license “Call of Duty” to rivals, including a 10-year contract with Nintendo dependent on the merger closing.
