The antitrust lawsuit being prepared by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hangs over Microsoft's buyout deal to take over Activision Blizzard. As the company prepares for a possible lawsuit if the regulator blocks the deal, Phil Spencer is offering Sony a new offer on Call of Duty, which would be in addition to a previous offer to license the shooter series for ten more years on current and future PlayStation systems (an offer he would also have extended to Nintendo and Steam on PC).
According to a new report from Bloomberg, Microsoft has reportedly offered Sony the chance to bring the Call of Duty franchise to its PlayStation Plus subscription service. Bloomberg understands that Sony has not yet agreed to the deal, as it continues to fight a merger that would see Microsoft take control of the industry's biggest third-party franchise, and one of its biggest sources of revenue.
This could be the decisive step in the FTC, CMA and European Commission deciding to give the go-ahead for the multi-billion dollar deal, which if it goes ahead would close during the summer of 2023.