Microsoft has sought to counter arguments made by UK regulator the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) that recommend its pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard might hurt rivals, and particularly depart PlayStation maker Sony at a big drawback.

In a wide-ranging response, the corporate has described the CMA’s considerations as “misplaced” and says the regulator’s overarching concern that the $68.7 million acquisition will permit it to drive opponents out of enterprise is “unsupported” and primarily based on “self-serving statements by Sony.”

There’s rather a lot to absorb right here (33 pages, in truth), however Microsoft is actually accusing Sony of exaggerating the significance of the Call of Duty franchise to its enterprise in its personal conversations with the CMA. Microsoft additionally claims the regulator has uncared for to account for Sony’s “clear means to competitively reply” and its place as a market chief.

For occasion, Microsoft claims Sony is positioning itself as a susceptible when “PlayStation has been the most important console platform for over 20 years, with an put in base of over 150 million consoles making it bigger than Nintendo and greater than double the dimensions of Xbox.”

“Sony’s put in base on the finish of 2021 was 151.4 million, as in comparison with the Xbox put in base of 63.7 million,” added Microsoft.

Microsoft additionally highlighted an settlement between Activision Blizzard and Sony that “consists of restrictions on the power of Activision Blizzard to put Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for quite a few years” as proof of its dominance and affect.

David versus Goliath? 

Although Microsoft has pledged to proceed honoring present contractual obligations that Activision Blizzard has with different platforms, it was additionally candid in regards to the reality it can finally search to “differentiate” Game Pass by bringing Activision Blizzard titles to the service “while not making the titles out there in the identical method or on the identical time on different subscription companies.”

That mentioned, Microsoft claims it is implausible that such a method would lead to a “substantial lessening of competitors,” largely as a result of Sony has its personal library of first-party content material and will bolster its personal companies in response.

“Given that Activision Blizzard doesn’t make its most beneficial content material out there by way of multi-game subscriptions, even when such content material have been made out there on Game Pass post-Transaction, however not on different multi-game subscriptions in the identical method or time, this is able to not foreclose rivals,” continued Microsoft. “As set out above, the merged entity is not going to have market energy within the upstream sport publishing market and there will likely be a variety of other content material out there to construct a viable multi-game subscription service.

“This aggressive dynamic advantages avid gamers, and is barely more likely to speed up post-Transaction. For instance, Sony has the power to reply competitively to Xbox including new content material to Game Pass by together with extra of its unique content material into PS+ and/or making its newer content material out there in PS+, which up to now it has declined to do regardless of charging the next month-to-month subscription charge than Game Pass.”

The TL;DR model is that Microsoft believes Sony is at present the undisputed market chief for quite a few causes, and is throwing its toys out of the stroller as a result of a competitor is looking for to shut what’s clearly a fairly seismic acquisition. Microsoft, nevertheless, contends that Sony has the power to compete and reply if it needs by increasing its personal M&A efforts or bolstering PlayStation companies.

“The suggestion that the incumbent market chief, with clear and enduring market energy, could possibly be foreclosed by the third largest supplier on account of dropping entry to 1 title will not be credible. There are greater than 4,000 video games out there on PlayStation alone,” added Microsoft.

“Since the Transaction was introduced, Sony has acquired a number of sport studios – together with Bungie, developer of the favored on-line sport Destiny 2, Haven Studios, Lasengle and Savage Games – and a minority curiosity in FromSoftware, the developer of the most important sport of 2022, Elden Ring and different hit video games. This enhances Sony’s present minority shareholding in Epic Games, writer of Fortnite, robust first-party sport catalogue and intensive portfolio of unique preparations with third-party publishers. There have been over 280 unique first- and third- social gathering titles on PlayStation in 2021, practically 5 instances as many as on Xbox.

“For the explanations set out on this response, the theories of hurt and proof introduced within the Referral Decision don’t present any believable foundation on which it could possibly be discovered that the Transaction will give rise to a considerable lessening of competitors.”

You can learn Microsoft’s full response to the CMA proper right here.