Activision: Jim Ryan (Sony) refuses any “deal” and admits that he wants to block the takeover of Microsoft

This time the good Jimmy spilled the beans, and even more revealing is the VP Corporate Affairs & Chief Communications Officer ofActivision-Blizzard person who spilled the beans, shortly after the release of the mind-blowing new documents that Sony sent to the CMA! Thus, a few hours after we learned that Sony suspected Microsoft of wanting to sabotage the PlayStation version of Call of Duty – would Sony be worried about practices that it would already promote via certain partner studios? – Lulu Cheng Meserveyone of the senior executives of Activision-Blizzard, reported the remarks that Jim Ryan would have made on February 21, the day of the interview with the representatives of the European Commission, and just after Activision-Blizzard had proposed to Sony long-term access to Call of Duty: “I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just wanna block your fusion (repurchase, editor’s note) “would have declared an exasperated Jim Ryan.

The CEO of SIE answered that question in Brussels.

In his words:

“I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.”

—Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) March 8, 2023

This admission says a lot about the motivations of Jim Ryan since the beginning of the case. And demonstrates, if additional proof was needed, that the boss of SIE is not really afraid of losing Call of Duty (the delusional remarks addressed to the CMA attest to this), but wishes to prohibit Microsoft from accessing the huge package of studios and franchises owned by Activision-Blizzard-King, franchises that would pass in their vast majority under the exclusive Xbox banner. Sony has indeed dominated the “game” for years mainly thanks to its exclusives, and seems to fear above all that the Game Pass could be fed over time with strong and exclusive franchises which would make the game lose its appeal. business model of PlayStation exclusivity payable at full price.

Problem for Sony, the regulatory authorities do not really put the Activision Blizzard franchises in the antitrust balance, and focus mainly on Call of Duty… for which Microsoft has already signed a contract with Nvidia and Nintendo! Unable to attack other franchises (although this is certainly the crux of the problem), Sony is therefore currently reduced to multiplying the (increasingly absurd) suspicions against Microsoft in the context of a ” Call of”, whereas the very conditions of such a commercial deal are precisely to prevent any slippage. Are these desperate attempts to drive the point home after the CMA not likely to have the opposite effect to that sought?

Moreover, and in view of the now somewhat degraded relations between Activision and Sony (Activision, Kotick, the unions, the employees as well as the shareholders of Activision WANT the takeover), degradation recorded moreover by the tone of Lulu Cheng’s tweet Meservey, it is now more than likely that Sony will not find conditions of “business as usual” in the event that the redemption is effectively blocked. The very fact that Jim Ryan is taking the risk of causing PlayStation to lose its position of favor on the Call of (exclusive mission, exclusive content, open beta for PlayStation players only) is additional proof that it is not Call of the real problem but the fact that Microsoft can access the many Activision-Blizzard-King franchises. A kamikaze strategy in short…