Even with all the concessions that Microsoft seems to be making, it’s still not enough to convince Sony that it should get on board with this deal going through.
In fact, Sony is concerned of a few scenarios in which should the deal be approved, Microsoft will use its ownership to divert players from PlayStation and onto Xbox in other ways.
One of those, is a claim that Microsoft will sabotage or “degrade” the “quality and performance” of future Call Of Duty titles on the PlayStation platform, making Xbox consoles the better place to experience those titles.
In a report from Sony sent to the UK’s CMA, Sony argued that it believes Microsoft would work to drive players away from PlayStation and ultimately harm its business through a few methods, including,
Degrading the quality and performance of Call of Duty on PlayStation compared to Xbox.
Raising the price of Call Of Duty on PlayStation
Degrading Call Of Duty to ignore PlayStation-specific features (eg. better controller haptics) or not prioritizing investment in such features
Restricting, degrading, or not prioritizing investment in the multiplayer experience on PlayStation
Making Call Of Duty available on MGS only on Game Pass
Microsoft meanwhile continues to try and convince the CMA that it won’t be doing any of the things Sony says it will, even going as far to confirm what was previously reported, that Microsoft offered Sony the option to have Call Of Duty launch into its PlayStation Plus service.
Source – [The Verge]