Earlier today, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued a statement detailing concerns regarding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The UK governing agency’s stance is that this merger, “could substantially lessen competition in gaming consoles, multi-game subscription services, and cloud gaming services.”
In response to the UK CMA’s statement, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer also published a press release in hopes to ease concerns. The primary message Spencer sends in his response is the emphasis of Microsoft’s goal to bring games to as many players as it can. Part of this goal involves a commitment to cross-platform compatibilities.
To the point of the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Spencer reiterates that Microsoft will continue publishing franchises like Call of Duty on Sony’s console PlayStation. In essence, Microsoft has no current plans to make any Activision Blizzard titles exclusive to Xbox. To back up his claim, Spencer also points to Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang and how Minecraft remains a cross-platform title as well.
We’ve heard that this deal might take franchises like Call of Duty away from the places where people currently play them. That’s why, as we’ve said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere. We will continue to enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices.
Phil Spencer
In addition, Spencer’s press release also details Microsoft’s plans to use the publisher to expand into mobile gaming. The CEO cites Activision Blizzard’s success in mobile game development as a leading cause for the merger. He then adds how combining Activision Blizzard’s mobile game development with Microsoft’s cloud game streaming technology will make gaming more accessible than ever.
Do you think Microsoft will hold true to its claims of cross-platform launches? Or will the gaming giant eventually keep Activision Blizzard titles exclusive to Xbox? As always, let us know what you think in the comments!
Via Microsoft
