Microsoft Presents Remedies to CMA’s Questions, Suggests Call of Duty Would Be Optimised For PlayStation

Microsoft recently filed its response to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) about its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The company has proposed two remedies to address the regulator’s concerns. This includes publishing agreements between Sony and Microsoft, that will keep the Call of Duty series on Sony’s PlayStation platform for 10 years. The second is a cloud gaming deal with providers that would allow players to stream Activision PC games.

Microsoft also said in the document that is does not have any intention of making Call of Duty exclusive to the Xbox platform. The remedy by Microsoft also states that PlayStation will equally receive content and playability on the same release date of the games.

The CMA has extended its deadline for making a final decision on Microsoft’s deal from April 25 to May 22.

Call of Duty will be optimized for PlayStation, assures Microsoft

In terms of what kind of special features PlayStation players will get for Call of Duty games, Microsoft said that the games will use haptic feedback on the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller.

The company said that the Xbox version of the game may see fewer features as it does not have anything comparable to Sony’s controller.

Sony had raised a concern, stating that Microsoft could release inferior versions of the games on PlayStation. Microsoft stated in its response that it would be in its best interests to release the best version of the game, as it would make more money from the sales.

Microsoft also said in a response to the CMA’s questions that a period of ten years is enough for Sony to make its own alternative Call of Duty games.

A recent Reuters report states that the European Commission is likely to accept the settlement by Microsoft. However, the same can’t be said for the CMA.

In December, ten gamers sued Microsoft to stop it from buying Activision Blizzard. In a recent update to the case, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating that the plaintiffs failed to convince them why Microsoft’s merger could harm gamers. “Why would Microsoft make Call of Duty exclusive to its platforms thus resulting in fewer games sold?” district judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said.