Microsoft says the UK is looking into the Activision Blizzard deal because of pressure from Sony.
Last month, the CMA said that the deal could hurt competition.
London : Microsoft (MSFT.O) said that Britain’s competition regulator had based its decision to look into its $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal on “misplaced” concerns about “Call of Duty” from its rival Sony (6758.T).
Last month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that the deal could hurt competition and should be looked into in more detail.
It said that Microsoft could use its control over popular games to hurt competitors, such as those who offer multi-game subscription services or cloud gaming.
It said in its full decision on Wednesday that the merger would “change the game” and give Microsoft best-selling franchises like “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft,” and “Candy Crush.”
“The CMA is worried that if Microsoft has full control over this powerful catalogue, it could hurt consumers by making it harder for Sony, its biggest gaming rival, to compete,” it said.
Microsoft said that Sony’s complaints were taken up by the CMA without the “appropriate level of critical review.”
In its response, it said that Sony’s PlayStation had been the most popular console platform for more than 20 years, and it wasn’t believable that losing access to one game would change that.
Microsoft said, “The Referral Decision wrongly relies on self-serving statements by Sony that greatly overstate how important ‘Call of Duty’ is to it and don’t take into account Sony’s clear ability to respond competitively.”
It also said that it would keep “Call of Duty” on the PlayStation.
“Our inquiry is about making sure that businesses and gamers in the UK have a fair chance to compete. The Phase 1 decision said that the deal could hurt gaming consoles, services that let you subscribe to more than one game, and cloud gaming services. “In a statement, a CMA spokesman said.
“We’ve started a thorough investigation, and the results will be made public in the New Year.”
“This deal will help gamers, developers, and the industry as we try to get more games to more people,” a Microsoft representative said.
A Sony PlayStation representative said again that the company thought the deal was “bad for competition, bad for the gaming industry, and bad for gamers themselves.”
“This deal would give Microsoft’s Xbox ecosystem a unique mix of tech and content, making it the leader in gaming. This would be terrible for consumers, small developers, and Sony itself,” he said.
The deal, which was announced in January, will need to be approved by the European Union, the United States, and China, among other major countries.
