In a bid to win regulatory approval for its $69 billion (¥9.5 trillion) purchase of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has offered rival Sony Group the right to sell Activision blockbuster Call of Duty as part of its gaming subscription service.
Microsoft has publicly stated that it offered Sony a 10-year deal to make Call of Duty available on the Japanese company’s PlayStation console. The proposal, which Sony hasn’t accepted, also includes rights to sell the title on the PlayStation Plus service, which gives gamers access to a catalog of games for a monthly fee, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who declined to be identified because the talks are confidential.
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is the leader in the video game and cloud gaming subscription market and is a top concern of regulators in the U.S., U.K. and European Union. Last week, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it’s seeking to block the merger on grounds that it would "enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.”