Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard deal is still in the middle of a tug-of-war, in which Sony has played the role of opponent and frequently questioned for the “Call of Duty” series of games.
In response, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick expressed his dissatisfaction, saying that Sony’s recent behavior is disappointing, but will not damage the long-term relationship between Activision Blizzard and Sony.
In an email sent to Activision Blizzard employees on Tuesday, Kotick provided an update on the $69 billion deal, in which he called Sony’s recent behavior “disappointing. His message cited Sony’s recent claims that if Activision Blizzard is acquired by Microsoft, it could release intentionally vulnerable Call of Duty games on PlayStation consoles.
We all know that passionate gamers will demand first and foremost that Microsoft fulfill its promise of equal content and quality,” Kotick said. And, all of us who strive to deliver the best games in the industry care deeply about our players and therefore will not release a sub-standard version of the game.”
Microsoft has said it has offered Sony a 10-year, legally enforceable contract for each new Call of Duty game to be released on PlayStation simultaneously with full content and features when it comes to the Xbox platform.
Last month, Lulu Cheng Meservey, executive vice president of corporate affairs at Activision Blizzard, claimed that Sony Interactive Entertainment President Jim Ryan told Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, “I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to stop your merger.”
Kotick also appeared to address the comment in an email sent to employees on Tuesday. He wrote: “Sony even admitted that they weren’t actually worried about the Call of Duty deal, they just wanted to block our merger. This is clearly disappointing behavior from a partner nearly three decades in the making, but we will not allow Sony’s actions to affect our long-term relationship. PlayStation gamers know that we will continue to deliver the best games on Sony platforms, just as we have since the launch of PlayStation.”
