In response to UK’s regulatory body, the Competition and Markets Authority, stating that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard could lessen competition in the gaming market, Microsoft has released a statement in response.
In the statement, Microsoft points out that Sony’s actions in blocking Games Pass from coming to PlayStation has done more to harm competition.
“Sony has chosen to block Game Pass from PlayStation, so it is not available on PlayStation,” says the statement according to The Verge’s Tom Warren. “As all games that are available on Game Pass are also available to purchase, PlayStation gamers will continue to have the ability to buy Call of Duty on PlayStation. And doing so will still cost less than the cost of switching by buying a new Xbox console.”
Microsoft also points out that this will be the first time that an Activision Blizzard game will be available through a subscription service.
“Again, this increased competition has not been welcomed by the market leader Sony, which has elected to protect its revenues from sales of newly released gaes, rather than offer gamers the choice of accessing the via its subscription, PlayStation Plus.”
UK’s CMA had earlier stated that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard could realistically affect competition in gaming consoles. The regulatory body cited the “network effect” of the market, which causes the more popular console to attact more content, which in turn attracts even more gamers.