Greater Revenue Share Demands Almost Kept COD Off Xbox Consoles

The Federal Trade Commission filed an injunction to stop Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The roughly $70 billion transaction cannot proceed unless Microsoft prevails in both its appeal with the CMA and its legal battle with the FTC in federal court. Microsoft is running out of time since the merger agreement is set to expire on July 18. 

On June 22, Microsoft began its fight with the FTC to get beyond the first significant obstacle, and throughout the first day of testimony, there were already bold statements.

IGN reported that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick demanded a greater revenue share to put Call of Duty on Microsoft’s platforms. Microsoft’s Sarah Bond said Bobby Kotick made it clear “if we did not move beyond standard revenue share that he intended to not place Call of Duty on Xbox.” Reportedly, Kotick made the demand in 2021 and forced Microsoft to agree to his terms for COD revenue sharing.

Bond explained that Microsoft accepted the deal because otherwise there would have been no Call of Duty on Xbox Series X and S. "Time was limited. We had players whose expectations we wanted to meet, so we ultimately made a decision that it was the best thing for the business."

In its turn, CharlieIntel reported that the current revenue split appears to be 80/20, which goes against the industry standard of 70/30. Earlier, Xbox said it "has lost the console wars, and its rivals are positioned to continue to dominate". 

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