Desperate situations require measures that would never be considered under, say, “normal” conditions. That’s a fall soap opera case we’ll have a lot to talk about in 2023: Activision Blizzard’s acquisition of Kind.

Putting the case into context. Microsoft had to back down and back down as competitors in the video game market increased the number of complaints, forcing regulators halfway around the world to file lawsuits to halt purchases. Most important is the all-powerful US FTC, which, like everyone else, fears that the biggest buyout operation in video game history will concentrate too much power in Microsoft’s hands, and that Microsoft will make certain franchises exclusive, with Call of Duty at the center of all the debate, even if it wouldn’t the only one.

Activision Blizzard: Concessions to Microsoft

Microsoft has put its top executives in charge, led by its own president Brad Smith and Xbox boss Phil Spencer. To begin with, they unilaterally expanded call of duty license agreement for three years and promised to keep the franchise on Steam. They also proposed a long-term contract (10 years) to Nintendo and Sony to use it. If Nintendo responded in the affirmative, Sony did not respond to the proposal, which it initially considered “inadequate”.

Microsoft has explained that it cannot sign an agreement that lasts “forever” but that it is willing to reach “a long-term commitment that Sony and regulators agree to”, insist they have to work on competitors’ platforms to recoup investment. The final concession was the right to sell the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation Plus.

But Sony continues to say no, and since it is the key to the approval of this operation, Microsoft decided to take an unthinkable measure: half will pay the nearly $70,000 million it will cost. We don’t know how the proposal will fare in the middle of Christmas at the Tokyo headquarters, but we’ve never known anything like it. That would be a blast…

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