Microsoft claims to have no idea why 'Call of Duty' franchise is special - The Free Media

Microsoft, which announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard a year ago, may prevent ‘Call of Duty,’ the video game company’s iconic franchise, from appearing on Sony’s PlayStation.

According to The Verge, an American technology news website, Microsoft announced last January that it would spend USD 68.7 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, highlighting how it would get ‘Call of Duty,’ ‘Warcraft,’ and ‘Candy Crush’ for that price. According to the new website, Microsoft’s lawyers are suddenly pretending they have no idea why ‘Call of Duty’ is special or even when it was released.

According to The Verge, Microsoft’s 37-page response to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit seeking to block the Activision Blizzard deal includes the following passage:

“Microsoft asserts that it lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations concerning industry perceptions of Call of Duty and Call of Duty’s original release date; or as to the truth of the allegations concerning Call of Duty’s launch and typical release schedule, and the resources and budget Activision allocates to Call of Duty, including the number of studios that work on Call of Duty.”

The FTC claimed in its complaint that acquiring Activision Blizzard would “allow Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.” Many people have been concerned about the future of “Call of Duty,” to the point where Xbox CEO Phil Spencer publicly assured the public that the franchise will be available on PlayStation for as long as PlayStations are manufactured.

In its response to the FTC, Microsoft cited its promise to expand, not limit, the availability of Activision’s flagship series by bringing it to the Nintendo Switch. According to The Verge, Nintendo and Microsoft have agreed to keep Call of Duty on Nintendo platforms for ten years following the acquisition, and have also offered Sony a ten-year deal after Sony previously rejected a three-year extension. Sony has not publicly responded to the 10-year offer.