During the recent trial in which the Federal Trade Commission has been actively trying to block Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard, the tech giant’s CEO has admitted that he would like to get rid of console game exclusives.
Satya Nadella blames Sony
As reported by The Verge, Satya Nadella says that while he would “love” for there to be no exclusives, he adds that it’s “not for me to define” given his low share in the console market.
He goes on to say that he feels Sony has been the “dominant player” in defining competition in the gaming market through the use of exclusives. The executive then says, rather pessimistically, that he has “no love” for such a world.
Nadella took over as Microsoft CEO in 2014, having been a key asset to the business since the early 90s. His recent words come soon after PlayStation’s own Jim Ryan said that games like Starfield and other Xbox exclusives weren’t “anti-competitive.” Ryan’s comments were part of day three of the FTC hearings.
During the court case, It’s already been claimed that Xbox is losing the console wars, being third behind what Sony and Nintendo have been offering these past two decades. As such, Microsoft is keen to justify its purchase of Activision Blizzard, insisting that it won’t give the company a competitive edge in the console market.
The court case between Microsoft and the FTC goes on for another day. The intention is to decide whether the $68.7 billion acquisition of the Call of Duty developer should go ahead.
