Sony Suspects Activision Blizzard Acquisition Could Make Call Of Duty Fans Jump To Xbox, Microsoft Defends Buyout

The Brazilian government has published Sony's official response to several questions about the current ecosystem of AAA game development and highlighted everyone's favorite first-person shooter franchise: Call of Duty. Many regions have watched Microsoft closely since its bombshell proposal to acquire Activision Blizzard; however, recent talks with Brazilian regulators reveal Sony is concerned, saying that the acquisition of Call of Duty will "influence users' console choice."

According to the translated questionnaire detailing Sony's responses to Brazil's government (via Resetera), Sony holds Call of Duty in high regard, calling the series "an essential game" and has "loyal users" that are entrenched enough to where competitors stand no chance.

Sony says that Call of Duty is "synonymous with first-person shooter games and essentially defines the category," continuing to remark that even its weaker titles in recent years still "outperform most other games by a considerable margin." Furthermore, Activision has "approximately 1,200 people [working] on each version, and another 1,500 are involved in publishing and distribution," showing just how massive the studio is compared to many others.

All this is to say that Sony believes the acquisition will sway fans to Xbox consoles. PlayStation's firm is considering this an eventual fact and could very well happen after the currently planned three CoD games the Sony console will receive. However, Microsoft has denied such a thing could happen. From an issued report in June, Microsoft told the New Zealand Commerce Commission that Activision Blizzard doesn't produce "must have" games.

After putting $68.7 billion on the table, one of the biggest tech buyouts that trump other meager amounts, this response is bizarre. Microsoft says there's "nothing unique about the video games developed and published by Activision Blizzard that is a 'must have' for rival PC and console video game distributors," which is baffling because of the sheer reputation of many of its IPs. Even though the studio as a whole is catching heat nowadays, it has games that are beloved by many and regaled as a 'must have' experience.

Do you think Microsoft is on point here and is Sony right to be concerned? Let us know below!