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Advertising for the game "Call of Duty: Vanguard" from 2021: The shooter series could soon belong to Microsoft
Photo: Richard B. Levine / Levine-Roberts / IMAGO
Microsoft is planning the largest acquisition in its corporate history.
But whether the Redmond-based company can really get away with it is something he doesn't even know at the moment. Microsoft would be willing to pay around 69 billion dollars for the game manufacturer Activision-Blizzard and its popular brands such as "Call of Duty", "Diablo" and "Candy Crush". « – which would significantly increase its importance in the gaming market.
Some game fans would be happy about that, because many popular games could become part of the Xbox Game Pass, i.e. Microsoft's gaming flat rate.
Other gamers fear that the Windows manufacturer will be too dominant because, for example, they might prefer their own platforms such as Xbox or Windows in the case of much-awaited releases.
Important regulatory authorities are also opposed to the takeover: The US Trade and Consumer Protection Agency FTC, for example, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the plans.
And competition watchdogs in Great Britain and the European Union are also investigating the deal.
As the Reuters news agency reports, Microsoft will even be present in Brussels today, Tuesday, with the aim of dispelling the EU Commission's concerns there.
What will Call of Duty look like on the Switch?
Microsoft's deputy boss Brad Smith has a deal with Nintendo, the other most important console manufacturer next to Sony, which Smith praised on Twitter on Tuesday morning.
Accordingly, Microsoft and Nintendo have reached a binding agreement to make the Call of Duty shooter available not only to Xbox players, but also to Nintendo players.
Exactly how remains unclear – although that would be very interesting.
Because Nintendo's current console switch is significantly less powerful than its Microsoft counterparts.
The latest parts of the shooter series are not yet available for the switch.
According to the announcement, the "Call of Duty" for Nintendo players should appear with all the features and the same content as the Xbox version, and on the same day.
A streaming solution would be the most conceivable here, although even small delays can be a huge disadvantage, especially in shooter games.
The agreement between Microsoft and Nintendo, which will probably only last in the event of a successful takeover, was already apparent a few weeks ago.
"Call of Duty" is the most important shooter in the industry in terms of sales figures, and in its genre it is as important as, for example, "Fifa" is in sports games.
The action game is also very popular with Playstation players.
According to media reports, the Playstation manufacturer Sony has so far positioned itself against Microsoft's takeover plans, even though it is said to have been offered a ten-year deal for "Call of Duty".
In the past few days, however, there have also been indications that Microsoft and Sony may be in negotiations again.
mbo/dpa
