Microsoft responds to the FTC: Call of Duty for everyone, the importance of mobile and PlayStation exclusives

In case anyone hadn’t heard, Microsoft has an agreement to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, but two weeks ago the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit to block it. Today Microsoft’s response has arrived, which in a 37 page document rebuts the FTC’s arguments and explains to the judge why he should allow the acquisition to go through. The document also leaves us with an interesting detail: the exclusive third party PlayStation excluding Xbox.

The argument that Microsoft has sent to the court is the same one that we have been hearing for almost a year. We can summarize it in three points: Call of Duty will continue to be multiplatform and will even reach Nintendo consoles; Activision Blizzard’s appeal is mobile games, not their AAA titles; and in the video game industry Microsoft is a small player compared to Sony and Nintendo. “Xbox consoles are far behind those of Sony and Nintendo,” the document can be read.

Microsoft attaches four graphics with which it wants to tell the judge that even with Activision Blizzard the company would be far from dominating the video game industry. According to these figures, in 2021 Microsoft was the company that sold the fewest consoles and the one with the fewest exclusive games compared to Nintendo and Sony. He also maintains that in the mobile games market it is a company that hardly exists and that in the event of acquiring Activision Blizzard it would only cover 4.3% of the sector’s revenues.

Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard would also allow the company to add its games to Game Pass on launch day. This service is one of the FTC’s points of concern. The technology sees it very differently, considering that Game Pass is a service that lowers the barrier to entry and makes games more affordable and accessible to millions of players. Microsoft argues that if consumers agree with the Xbox vision, it will lead to more competition.

The exclusive games of PlayStation and Bethesda Softworks

One of the FTC’s arguments for trying to block the Activision Blizzard buyout deal is based on the lack of trust it has in Microsoft. The agency says Microsoft told European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to prevent Bethesda Softworks’ games from reaching rival consoles. Despite this, Starfield and Redfall will be exclusive. Subsequently, the European Commission clarified that Microsoft had not committed to anything and that the Bethesda purchase was approved without further ado.

Now Microsoft adds that the three upcoming games from Bethesda Softworks They will be exclusive to Xbox/PC. The name of the titles is censored but we know that they are games for one player or small groups. Starfall, Redfall and The Elder Scrolls VI, Indiana Jones…? Microsoft also reminds that Bethesda Softworks titles that require a community, such as Fallout 76 and Elder Scrolls Online, remain on PlayStation.

Finally, Microsoft lets the judge know that it is PlayStation that has the most exclusive games. It’s not just about the titles first party of PlayStation Studios, but also that Sony reaches agreements with publishers third party what exclude Xbox. Microsoft gives four examples of this type of alliance: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix), Bloodborne (FromSoftware), Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) and the remake from Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team).

It is unknown to this day how much longer the process will take. The trial may go on for a long time, but if the FTC and Microsoft reach an agreement, the soap opera would end immediately, at least in the United States.