The debate among gamers immediately erupted when Microsoft announced that it would buy Activision Blizzard, the gaming behemoth that has produced IPs like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, starting with Sony. This nearly $69 billion transaction is currently being blocked by three major competition regulators, including the European Commission.
The issue is quite large, and new partnerships are emerging from it, like those of Microsoft and Nintendo, as well as a series of extremely strategic moves, needless to say between the Redmond giant and the Sony itself.
The merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is of critical importance to both parties, and it is therefore surprising that Brad Smith, the CEO of the Redmond company, is featured at the end of the address. As he himself announced on February 21, Microsoft and Nintendo have signed a binding contract that will take effect if the acquisition of Activision Blizzard succeeds.
In that case, the Xbox house will guarantee the release of Call of Duty on Nintendo consoles for ten years, with versions equipped with the same features and content as before. The US giant reiterated its intention to provide greater choice to the largest possible number of gamers, even on other gaming platforms.
Well, in this regard, we want to make some observations. The Call of Duty franchise is apparently absent from the partnership, so we don't know how many and which iterations of the Acti-Blizzard IP will continue to appear on Nintendo platforms after Microsoft's acquisition. Among other things, the military series has long since abandoned the shores of the "Big N."
The opportunity for Nintendo's hybrid successor will arrive shortly, so Call of Duty might be able to reclaim its new flagship in red, following the completion of the Acti-Blizzard deal. Xbox games will now be available on Nvidia GeForce Now, according to Einstein.
In the first place, the recent openness towards Nvidia's cloud gaming solution has served the company to reassure regulators: it is a bit of a "relax," which however in the present state of the facts sees it as a clear advantage over the competition.
The Microsoft president said that Call of Duty would be available on 150 million additional devices for the sure benefit of the gamer population. For some time, the Xbox division has chosen to rely less and less on "theoretical numbers", in favor of more concrete factors, such as public involvement, actual use of a console or service, and so on.
It was Smith who admitted that he always carried the Call of Duty permanence agreement on PlayStation with him, waiting for Ryan's division to sign it, and that he did not want to join a train of "competitors friends" that was becoming more frequented. Yet, go to the other side of the fence and you will find a completely different situation.
The fact that Jim Ryan and his partners want to preserve the gaming domain isn't surprising. A Call of Duty for 80 euros on PS5 against an Xbox Game Pass that arrives on day one, with all of its associated access points, might actually encourage some consumers to convert to the verdecrucian ecosystem.
The Sony Exclusives' commercial results demonstrate that an enormous percentage of PlayStation players is disinterested in Aloy's adventures (here is a review of Horizon Forbidden West) or in Kratos' and Atreus' struggles, net of their unmistakable quality. Franchises like GTA and Call of Duty are extremely important to the blue division, and they encourage users to retain additional benefits (such as the PS Plus Extra Game Catalog).
There is no way to know whether or not Call of Duty will maintain its relevance for the next ten years, but at the moment it remains a fundamental franchise for Sony, which is, moreover, not in a position to provide an alternative to its users, net of the marriage that occurred with Bungie. However, despite the recent history of the industry, finding solutions that can outperform major "continuously developed" IPs is a difficult task.
Jim Ryan's position, however understandable, is not in question. As he read these words, the writer could not help but smile. Square Enix's recent lineup (from the Forspoken and Final Fantasy XVI to the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remake), is packed with action.
The most obvious consequences for video game enthusiasts are just those of video game enthusiasts in this "underdog race," contested by giants who make themselves small and expose themselves to regulators how big and powerful their opponent is.
The postponed PlayStation Showcase at the end of 2022 – which was replaced by a series of key partners – as well as Xbox Game Studios' deafening silence during the Game Awards and in recent times, are clear examples of the platform owners' true intentions.
