The ongoing saga between the FTC and Xbox’s $68.7 billion proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues on in the federal court where Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO, Jim Ryan made his appearance in a pre-recorded video disposition. Ryan claimed that he talked to all publishers during a PlayStation investor meeting – a month after Xbox’s initial acquistion announcement – which he recalls back to the topic of Xbox Game Pass which was revealed to be “unanimously” disliked by publishers because its “value destructive,” according to IGN.
“I talked to all publishers and they unanimously do not like Game Pass because it’s value destructive… this is a very commonly held view over many years by the publishers,” Ryan said in his testimony.
He adds that even if Microsoft’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard successfully goes through and Call of Duty stays on PlayStation, the series and any titles coming in the future would be diminished in value because of Game Pass with Xbox’s first-party titles launching day and date on the service. For the people who pick up a new Call of Duty game every year, a day and date release of the series’ next game on Game Pass could move the needle by getting those players to jump and subscribe to Xbox Game Pass instead of buying the version on PlayStation. If Microsoft wasn’t acquiring Activision Blizzard, it would be very unlikely that Call of Duty games would come to the service, according to Ryan’s testimony.
