Microsoft has disputed claims that Call of Duty PlayStation players are likely to switch to Xbox should Activision Blizzard be acquired and the franchise ever become exclusive.
Pulling Call of Duty’s PlayStation versions doesn’t make financial sense
Microsoft’s latest statement is in response to concerns express by UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The regulator has proposed leaving Call of Duty out of the acquisition – a proposition Microsoft has shot down.
As reported by Axios, rhe Xbox maker has complained that the CMA has overestimated Call of Duty’s value, and quoted a YouGov survey that found that only three percent of PlayStation players would consider making the jump to Xbox over Call of Duty.
“As we have said all along: it makes zero business sense to take Call of Duty off of PlayStation,” Microsoft told Axios. The company added that the percentage of players that might switch to Xbox is “too small to hurt Sony’s ability to compete and too small to make a withholding strategy profitable for Xbox.”
Indeed CMA’s own survey found that 15 percent of dedicated Call of Duty players would switch platforms should the franchise ever become exclusive. However, revenue lost from players switching platforms is understandably unacceptable to Sony.
