Sony plays a very important role in Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard King. Or, more precisely, in the difficulties that Microsoft is having in completing this operation. While what ultimately happens will be determined by regulators, who have to give the green light or red light to the purchase, they are taking into account Sony’s position, which has been clear against it finally happening.

It would be unfair not to understand the position of the Japanese multinational company, so we have to remember that some of the most played titles on PlayStation, such as the titles of the Call of Duty franchise, are signed by Activision-Blizzard, so the risk that some of them will pass over time, be exclusive to Microsoft Xbox and PC it poses a very serious threat to the competitiveness of your platform. Of course, we do not know the real effect that this circumstance would have on the sales of Sony consoles, but at least a priori it can be assumed that it would be noticeable.

However, Microsoft has committed from the start not only to honoring the existing Activision-Blizzard-Sony contract (which, by the way, is something it is legally required to do), but also to expand Microsoft’s reach. games. a company out of data that has already committed to today. I personally think they are being honest on this point, but of course this is just a personal assessment and I understand that there are people who may think otherwise.

So as regulators continue to wrestle with a process they’ve shown they don’t understand, and the two companies, Microsoft and Sony, go at each other in a truly pitched battle, we’ve now learned from PitchBook that Sony bought Ballistic Moon, a studio founded by former Supermassive Games employees and who, among other things, worked on the development of Until Dawn. We are certainly not talking about a large study, but it means to continue to expand its already extensive portfolio in this regard.

We must remember that this is not the first acquisition that Sony has made since Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard announced their plans, as just two weeks after that announcement, Sony began the purchase of Bungie, a process that ended (with clearance) from all regulatory authorities and without Microsoft’s intervention) just six months later. And like I said about Ballistic Moon, yes, Bungie isn’t a giant like Activision-Blizzard, but it’s another acquisition of a company that is, and we have to remember that, market leader in video game consoles.

So Sony is trying to prevent the purchase of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, but at the same time it deals with studio acquisitions, in a move that can also be considered part of a plan to monopolize the market, which is exactly what Microsoft is actively and passively accused of. But, of course, it seems unlikely that those in Redmond, with this new operation in mind, would not consider reacting, as they did some time ago, to the hypocrisy on the part of the Japanese multinational.