A high-ranking Activision Blizzard executive is throwing shade at Sony for its highly publicized opposition to her company’s impending sale to Microsoft. One of the biggest gaming stories of 2022 was the shocking announcement that Microsoft is looking to acquire Activision Blizzard, a move that would add big-name franchises like Call Of Duty and World of Warcraft to the Xbox brand. This deal is said to cost Microsoft $68.7 million, and could very likely be the biggest business deal in the history of the industry should it clear regulation.While the forthcoming Activision Blizzard sale has already gained approval from many industry regulators, there is still plenty of controversy surrounding the deal. Among the usual fears of Xbox growing too powerful from yet another major gaming acquisition, longtime console competitor Sony has vocally opposed it out of concern that Xbox could gain exclusive access to the ever-lucrative Call of Duty franchise. Microsoft has since assured Sony that this wouldn’t be the case, even reportedly offering Sony access to all new Call of Duty releases for the next 10 years.Despite this, figures like Sony CEO Jim Ryan have continued to express concern that Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard will lead to the end of Call of Duty on PlayStation, something that has led to many jokes at Sony’s expense over the past few months. Even Activision Blizzard EVP Corporate Affairs and CCO Lulu Cheng Meservey has joined in on this, posting a humorous meme making fun of Sony’s opposition to the sale on social media earlier this week. This meme depicts Sony as a child sabotaging their access to Call of Duty by refusing to accept Microsoft’s past offers, yet still blaming Microsoft.
While Microsoft’s attempted buyout of Activision Blizzard has passed several regulatory bodies already, it still has a long way to go before it closes completely. Just this month, the US-based Communications Workers of America reiterated its support of the deal, despite previously suing Activision Blizzard for its alleged union-busting practices in the past. This comes right as Microsoft spoke to the European Union in favor of the buyout earlier this week.
A recent report revealed that players buy PS5s for Call of Duty more than any other title on the console, so there is some merit to Sony’s concerns about losing access to the franchise in the wake of Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition. However, Microsoft has since announced a deal with Nintendo to bring Xbox titles to the Switch, implying that Sony’s fears might not be as founded as the company would like regulators to believe. This argument has now spawned several memes making light of it all, and even Activision Blizzard higher-ups are joining in on the fun as Microsoft’s latest buyout nears completion.