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Report: Microsoft planning EU sweeteners for Activision deal

Report: Microsoft planning EU sweeteners for Activision deal

It looks like Microsoft is planning some concessions to appease the European Union in its purchase of Activision Blizzard.

That's according to Reuters, which reports that the Xbox firm is likely to offer some sweeteners to ensure that the organisation approves its deal. This seems to primarily involve a 10-year licensing deal with PlayStation, likely in reference to Sony's anxieties over Call of Duty becoming more desirable on Xbox.

Microsoft's games boss Phil Spencer has pledged that Call of Duty would not become an Xbox exclusive

The EU competition regulator is set to rule on the deal by April 11th, 2023.

"Sony, as the industry leader, says it is worried about Call of Duty, but we've said we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation. We want people to have more access to games, not less," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

As in the EU, in the UK there's a deeper investigation into the deal. In the United States, there are reports that the FTC is going to be filing a lawsuit to block the acquisition.


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PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.