Sony Commented on Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

Sony has responded to Microsoft's smash purchase of Activision Blizzard. The company commented on what the future of console games might be saying: "We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform”.

After Microsoft announced its ambition to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, speculations about whether the company would turn multiplatform releases into Xbox exclusives started. Currently, Activision Blizzard games are played on various platforms, and according to an Xbox blog post, "Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently".

Sony’s statement, however, leaves a bit more room for interpretation, as many started wondering what will happen to Activision Blizzard games on PlayStation when “contractual agreements” are up. According to sources cited in a Bloomberg report, Microsoft's future decisions will likely be based title-by-title, keeping “some of Activision’s games” on PlayStation consoles, but making “some content” being exclusive to Microsoft and Xbox. 

Taking into consideration Microsoft’s approach to previous acquisitions, it might be true. In September 2020, the company acquired Bethesda (ZeniMax Media) for $7.5 billion. In March 2021, Microsoft reported that "some new titles" from Bethesda and Zenimax Studios would be "exclusive to Xbox and PC". Later, Bethesda's Starfield has been confirmed as a PC and Xbox exclusive.

Microsoft anticipates the Activision Blizzard deal “to close in fiscal year 2023.” It’s quite a long period of time for a deal to close, however, taking into account that Activision Blizzard operates in various markets, it could make the regulatory approval process more complicated for Microsoft.