PlayStation's Jim Ryan met with regulators to discuss Activision deal

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan reportedly met with European regulators to discuss Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion buyout of Activision.

Published
Updated
2 minutes & 43 seconds read time

Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan reportedly met with European regulators in Brussels to discuss the ramifications of Microsoft's mega-billion merger with Activision-Blizzard.

PlayStation's Jim Ryan met with regulators to discuss Activision deal 11

Sony's Jim Ryan is believed to have met directly with European Commission regulators that are currently overseeing the approval of gaming's biggest merger. Ryan has publicly voiced his opposition to Microsoft buying Activision-Blizzard for $68.7 billion, with Call of Duty's exclusivity at heart of Ryan's arguments.

Ryan has publicly confirmed that Microsoft had plans to remove Call of Duty from PlayStation 3 years after Activision's current contracts had ended. This has likely been noticed and recorded by regulators as a key point to consider; the UK's Commission for Markets Authority (CMA) had also stated concerns about exclusivity.

It's unknown exactly what Ryan and his legal representation told regulators, but the CEO likely came prepared with lots of data and figures that won't be publicly released. We expect Ryan brought up how integral Call of Duty has been for the PlayStation brand, which is something we outlined here, and how massive the franchise really is.

PlayStation's Jim Ryan met with regulators to discuss Activision deal 1

Call of Duty has made over $30 billion to date and is set to expand to unprecedented levels with the release of Modern Warfare 2 and the upcoming Warzone 2.

Another further argument that Sony could make is focusing on Microsoft's pioneering efforts in cloud gaming. Microsoft has used its Xbox Game Pass framework to help push its cloud gaming initiative as an additive bonus to the value-oriented subscription, but one point is that Microsoft streams to mobiles, whereas Sony doesn't. Microsoft is set to significantly capitalize on the Activision-Blizzard buyout on all fronts--many of which that Sony has yet to really compete in like mobile gaming and live service titles.

It's been reported that Google has also voiced its concerns about the Activision-Blizzard merger. We've outlined how Google could actually make a compelling case against Microsoft's buyout offer in this article.

Don't Miss

Buy at Amazon

PS5 God of War Ragnarok Launch Edition

TodayYesterday7 days ago30 days ago
$74.20$59.99$74.50
* Prices last scanned on 3/27/2024 at 10:34 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.
NEWS SOURCE:seekingalpha.com

Derek joined the TweakTown team in 2015 and has since reviewed and played 1000s of hours of new games. Derek is absorbed with the intersection of technology and gaming, and is always looking forward to new advancements. With over six years in games journalism under his belt, Derek aims to further engage the gaming sector while taking a peek under the tech that powers it. He hopes to one day explore the stars in No Man's Sky with the magic of VR.

Newsletter Subscription

Related Tags