The plot surrounding Xbox and its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues to thicken. Xbox has issued a statement in response to the CMA's intent to continue its investigation, included in which is a note explaining why fears rooted in Call of Duty being made available on Game Pass are unfounded.The CMA outlined a number of reasons why it believes a second phase of its investigation into the merger is necessary (via VGC). One of those reasons highlighted the eventuality that Call of Duty titles will be available on Game Pass, potentially undercutting full-price PlayStation sales of the game.Xbox's response points to and expands upon a tweet from Phil Spencer published back in January. Spencer revealed he had spoken with Sony, confirming Xbox's intent to honor all agreements the studio has in place. This week's response confirms one of those agreements includes an inability to bring Call of Duty to Game Pass for “a number of years”.
“The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years,” is the exact wording of the note in Xbox's response. No ambiguity there, although this isn't the first time Xbox has attempted to be as clear as possible regarding these issues and been met with more brick walls.
Despite some of the other major titles Xbox will acquire should its Activision Blizzard merger go ahead, Call of Duty continues to be the sticking point. Sony admitted its fear the series will become an Xbox exclusive to authorities in Brazil where the acquisition has now been approved. The CMA hasn't been as easy to sway, and if it deems the deal might be damaging enough to the industry, it could prevent the acquisition from happening. Investigations into Activision Blizzards's alleged toxic work culture also continue as another sexual harassment lawsuit was filed last week.