In response to the recent statement by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority about Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard not harming competition in the console gaming market, Sony has released a statement. The CMA’s stance on the acquisition being bad for the console gaming market was released back in March.
In its statement, Sony called the CMA’s position on the acquisition “surprising, unprecedented, and irrational”.
“The CMA’s reversal of its position on its consoles theory of harm is surprising, unprecedented, and irrational,” said Sony in its statement according to IGN. “The provisional findings assessed a significant body of evidence in the round to support its finding that Microsoft would have the ability and incentive to withhold Activision content, and this would substantially lessen competition by foreclosing PlayStation.”
Microsoft has released its own statement on the matter, saying that rather than making Call of Duty exclusive, the company would benefit more from bringing the games to more platforms and devices.
“Microsoft has been clear since the announcement of the merger: it has no intention to withhold or degrade access to Call of Duty or any other Activision content on PlayStation,” said Microsoft.
“Such a strategy would be in direct contrast to the interests of gamers in the UK and around the world. Rather than limit choice or access, Microsoft intends to use the merger to bring more games to more people on more platforms and devices.”
Despite CMA’s statement, the regulatory body is yet to make a final decision on whether the acquisition would be bad for UK-based consumers. The CMA has stated that its reservations about the acquisition are now more focused in the cloud gaming market rather than the console market.
A final decision by the UK’s CMA on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to be announced by April 26 at the latest.