Why Today Could Be A Huge Day In The Microsoft/Activision Case

Today, February 21, could prove to be a pivotal day in Microsoft’s ongoing effort to acquire Activision Blizzard amid concerns from regulators. That’s because top bosses from Microsoft and Sony, including Phil Spencer and Jim Ryan, are taking part in a behind-closed-doors meeting with EU regulators in Brussels to make their cases.

In addition to Spencer from Microsoft and Ryan from Sony, Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, will be at the meeting, alongside Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. A report from Retuers (via The Verge) said people from Google, Nvidia, Valve, EA, and the European Games Developer Federation will be on hand as well.

Smith announced on Twitter today that Microsoft and Nintendo have entered into a deal to put Call of Duty on Nintendo platforms for the next decade, should the deal go through.

“We are committed to providing long-term equal access to Call of Duty to other gaming platforms, bringing more choice to more players and more competition to the gaming market,” Smith said.

Microsoft has reportedly offered a similar deal to Sony, but the PlayStation company has yet to respond publicly. Call of Duty is at the heart of Microsoft’s case to buy Activision Blizzard. Some regulators are saying Microsoft getting control of the Call of Duty series would give the Xbox company an unfair advantage.

For its part, Microsoft has always said it won’t remove Call of Duty from PlayStation if it takes ownership of the series. Microsoft says doing so would be a disastrous business decision for the company, given how much money Call of Duty generates on PlayStation platforms.

The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has suggested Microsoft divest itself of Call of Duty to help get the deal done. While Call of Duty and the console marketplace is a major point of contention in Microsoft’s effort to buy Activision Blizzard, Spencer has said the deal is more about helping Microsoft get a foothold in the mobile game space.

Given the February 21 meeting is taking place behind closed doors, we may not find out what was said. And if information does emerge, it likely won’t be presented in a fair or balanced way as both Microsoft and Sony have different objectives in mind. In any event, keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.