Sony seemed to have succeeded in asserting its position with the pressure it is exerting to avoid the purchase Activision-Blizzard From Microsoft’s side, however, it seems that things are going slowly with the Japanese giant. The European Union, at least now, points more to the approval of the operation, while doing so US FTC lawsuit against Microsoft could force Sony to reveal exclusives agreement and possible payments you may have made to avoid games appearing on Game Pass.

Although the FTC filed a lawsuit to prevent Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, it is not inconsistent with the fact that the US antitrust authority has initiated a legal discovery process as part of its investigation, together with the person responsible from Xbox, to cite Sony. . Microsoft and the FTC intend to force Sony to release records, internal documents and emails about the PlayStation division.

The agency’s chief administrative judge, D. Michael Chappell, explained the FTC’s reversal. sided with Microsoft’s demand to find out details about Sony’s exclusivity deals for PlayStation or the division would benefit. The request concerns agreements entered into after October 1, 2019, which allegedly prevented publishers from publishing games on Xbox Game Pass. Then came the judge’s decision Microsoft previously accused Sony of paying “blocking rights” to prevent content from being added to the said Game Pass.

Microsoft had intended to ask Sony for all the deals it had reached since 2012, but an FTC judge deemed the request excessive and shortened the time frame for it to begin in 2019. Normally, exclusivity deals remain that Microsoft wants to disclose. out of the public light, but the case between Epic Games and Apple at the time forced to show certain things that should have been kept secret from the companies.

For now the case brought by the FTC is in the discovery phase, with an evidentiary hearing scheduled for August 2, 2023. It’s possible that new details will be discovered before said date arrives, and with the way the case is going, maybe more than one of those new details will reveal things that undermine Sony’s position.

As we have already said, Sony seemed to have everything so that the operation would not be consumed, but Microsoft was able to read the situation better than the regulators themselves and maneuvered so that the wind is now blowing more in their favor . While the Redmond giant already has approval from some regulators, regulators in the United States (FTC), the United Kingdom (CMA) and the European Union appear to have the final say. If Microsoft wins on all three fronts, it will almost certainly be able to complete the Activision-Blizzard takeover.