A Call of Duty game
courtesy of Activision
Microsoft President Brad Smith confirmed the firm is committed to releasing Call of Duty games on rival Sony Group
‘s platforms if regulators approved its acquisition of Activision Blizzard . Following the revelation, Activision shares inched closer to Microsoft’s $95 deal price.
Smith addressed concerns about the potential Activision (ticker: ATVI) acquisition in a blog post on Wednesday outlining how the company will approach app store principles with its Microsoft (MSFT) Store and Windows.
“Microsoft will continue to make Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles available on PlayStation through the term of any existing agreement with Activision,” Smith wrote. “And we have committed to Sony that we will also make them available on PlayStation beyond the existing agreement and into the future so that Sony fans can continue to enjoy the games they love.”
Smith added that Microsoft is interested in taking similar steps for Nintendo
‘s platform.
“We believe this is the right thing for the industry, for gamers and for our business,” Smith said.
Activision stock jumped 1.6% to close at $81.50 on Wednesday. The difference between recent levels and the $95 offer price is a signal traders are concerned regulators may try to stop the deal due to antitrust concerns. Microsoft keeping games on rival platforms over the long term could alleviate some those worries.
Still, as Barron’s noted when the companies announced the $68.7 billion deal in January, takeover arbitrageurs assign a roughly 60% likelihood of the deal being completed, given the difference between current levels and the offer price.
Bloomberg reported last month that Microsoft planned to honor an Activision commitment to Sony to release the next two mainline Call of Duty games and a new version of its free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone on PlayStation consoles. Aviv Nevo, a professor at the Wharton School of Business, who previously was the chief economist in the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department, told Barron’s at the time that such a pledge may not have been enough to satisfy regulators.
Write to Connor Smith at [email protected]
