Microsoft Claims CMA Overcounted Players Willing to Ditch PlayStation for Xbox
According to Microsoft's own survey, the number of players who would switch to Xbox should Call of Duty be removed from Sony's console is significantly less than what the regulator alleged.
Microsoft has recently stated that the UK's competition regulator, the CMA, has significantly miscalculated the number of players willing to switch from PlayStation to Xbox, should the Call of Duty franchise become exclusive to Xbox and PC.
The CMA has repeatedly voiced its concerns about the deal claiming that it could hurt the competition in the market including due to a significant number of players ditching Sony's consoles for Xbox.
In December, the regulator provided figures from a survey conducted by DJS Research. While the exact share of all PlayStation owners who would switch to Xbox, if Call of Duty was removed from Sony's platform, wasn't disclosed in the public version of the document, based on this figure, the CMA ruled that "PlayStation is likely to lose a significant share."
According to Microsoft's own survey, conducted by YouGov (via Axios), only 3% of all PlayStation owners would be willing to leave Sony's console for Xbox, if Microsoft pulled Call of Duty from PlayStation. This, as Microsoft says, is significantly less than what the CMA alleged.
The same polls additionally show the percentage of active players of the Call of Duty franchise (gamers who listed the franchise as one of their top two favorites) who are ready to switch platforms if the series is removed from PlayStation. According to Microsoft, there are about 10.5% of such players, while in the CMA survey, this share is 15%.
Microsoft has once again stated that it sees no point in removing Call of Duty from the PlayStation. The company believes that the results of its survey confirm this. According to Microsoft, 3% of all console users who are ready to switch to Xbox is too small for PlayStation to lose a significant share of the audience and for there to be a benefit in the exclusivity of the series.
CMA is one of the main obstacles to the deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard so far. The regulator is expected to make its decision on whether the merger should go through by April 26.
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