Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan reportedly met EU antitrust boss Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday to discuss Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
That’s according to aReuterssource who declined to provide details of the discussion betweenPlayStation’s boss and Vestager.
Microsoftis seeking to complete a$68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but what would be thegames industry’s biggest ever deal by farhas been met with fierce opposition fromSonyand concerns from European, US and UK regulators.
In what would be the latest setback in the road to completing the deal, the EU is this week expected toissue Microsoft with a charge sheetsetting out its concerns about the acquisition, Reuters reports.
It recently said Microsoft was hoping to offer remedies to EU regulators in an attempt to avert a statement of objections and shorten the regulatory process. However, it’s claimed the EU is not open to remedies without first sending out its charge sheet.
The US Federal Trade Commission recently sued Microsoft ina bid to block the acquisition, which the regulator argues would enable the company to “suppress competitors” to itsXboxconsole, subscription content and cloud gaming business.
Among other concerns, regulators have expressed worries that the deal couldsignificantly reduce PlayStation’s ability to compete, given that it would see Microsoft gain ownership of the Call of Duty series, whichSony has called “irreplaceable”.
In a bid to address these concerns, Microsoft recently said it hadoffered Sony a 10-year, legally enforceable contractto make each new Call of Duty game available on PlayStation the same day it comes to Xbox.
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The FTC filed its lawsuit attempting to block the acquisition in a bid to dissuade EU regulators from accepting a settlement allowing the deal,Bloombergsources claimed this week.
The acquisition would also give Microsoft exclusive ownership of franchises including Warcraft,Overwatch, Crash Bandicoot and Guitar Hero. The European Commission is scheduled to rule on the deal by April 11.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority recentlydelayed plans to publish its final reporton the acquisition by up to eight weeks. It will now be published by April 26.
