Sony's ultimate goal is to stop Microsoft-Activision merger, not to secure COD access

The CEO of SIE answered that question in Brussels.

In his words:
 
"I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.”

— Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) March 8, 2023

Sony might have just revealed its true agenda involving its relentless protest against the Activision megadeal. According to Lulu Cheng Meservey, EVP at Activision Blizzard, Sony CEO Jim Ryan provided an answer on why the company continues to refuse the 10-year agreement being pushed by Microsoft: I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.

The revelation surfaced after Sony claimed in its statement to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority that Microsoft might introduce bugs to COD, which could negatively affect its business. The franchise has always been the top concern of Sony since the proposed merger was announced. It has also been consistently the main point of its arguments to regulators, as shown in its past statements.

Microsoft addressed the concern by extending the previous 3-year agreement for the franchise to 10 years. Sony, however, remains silent about affirming the offer, which led to the confusion of many. Nonetheless, Activision executive Lulu Cheng Meservey gave clarity to the matter, sharing that the SIE CEO himself divulged that his main point was to stop the merger.

“Microsoft offered Sony (the dominant console leader for well over a decade, with 80% market share) a 10 year agreement on far better terms than Sony would ever get from us,” Meservey tweeted. “We’ve also offered Sony guaranteed long-term access to Call of Duty. But they keep refusing. Why? The CEO of SIE answered that question in Brussels. In his words: ‘I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.'”

According to Meservey, Ryan stated the words on February 21 during a closed-door hearing with European Union regulators in Brussels. It is unknown how the revelation will affect Sony’s argument in the matter, especially in the eyes of the UK regulator, which continues to stress Sony’s COD issue as one of the main concerns of the deal.