Microsoft 'Invites' Sony to Court; Wants to Know Its Secrets
Microsoft considers details of PlayStation game development process to be relevant to the Federal Trade Commission's investigation attempting to undermine the Activision Blizzard acquisition. The Redmond giant has therefore invited Sony to court to reveal its secrets.
They say that the best defense is offense. This thought apparently guides Microsoft which, in its effort to build its line of defense against accusations the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has called Sony Interactive Entertainment to court. The company is expected to disclose details of its PlayStation game development process.
SIE is unlikely to want to share this information with its biggest rival. However, it may have no choice, as the Redmond giant considers them relevant to its case.
Importantly, Microsoft has made this summons on January 17, 2023, giving Sony until January 20 to respond. The Japanese, however, issued a request for an extension of this deadline to January 27, believing that the delay will not hurt the Americans, who have until April 7 to file all the necessary documents before the FTC.
The whole matter is, of course, about the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. The Federal Trade Commission has objections to the roughly $69 billion deal. Therefore, in early December 2022 it filed an anti-consumer lawsuit against the Redmond giant.
Court proceedings are expected to begin in less than eight months. However, it is possible that by then Microsoft will have already begun the final stage of its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This is because the company reportedly cares more about the opinions of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission than the FTC.
The former has been investigating the matter for many months now. There are indications to believe that its judgement will be positive for Microsoft. The EC, on the other hand is allegedly considering its own investigation. The Redmond giant seems confident that the favor of European authorities will turn the FTC's investigation in the United States a formality.
It is worth adding that several countries - specifically Chile, Serbia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia - have given already given the green light for Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Their decisions are not to the liking of Sony, which is concerned that as a result of the companies' merger, Activision Blizzard games will cease to be released on PlayStation. In particular, the series in question is Call of Duty, which SIE described as "irreplaceable."
