Bethesda received a surprising revelation from recently released court documents, showing Microsoft's commitment to keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation. This move has raised various concerns for Bethesda, particularly in light of Microsoft's pending trial with the FTC regarding the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
In the past, Microsoft had adopted a hands-off approach when it came to overseeing its roster of game developers. However, most of the companies it acquired in the last decade were eventually integrated into its Xbox Game Studios division. The notable exception to this pattern was Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, which maintained a considerable amount of independence following the completion of the $7.5 billion deal in March 2021. Despite operating as a separate subsidiary, ZeniMax's unique level of autonomy came with certain tradeoffs that brought about synergy.
Less than a year after the ZeniMax acquisition, Microsoft surprised Bethesda by announcing in February 2022 that it would keep Call of Duty on PlayStation if the Activision Blizzard deal went through. Seeking clarification, Bethesda's SVP of Global Marketing, Pete Hines, emailed Xbox chief Phil Spencer to understand how this acquisition differed from the ZeniMax deal. In the ZeniMax deal, Microsoft had immediately removed all Bethesda projects from PlayStation that were not already tied to exclusivity agreements.
Additionally, Hines expressed his confusion and frustration with this situation more explicitly to Bethesda Director Todd Howard and other colleagues. The FTC obtained and publicized a copy of their communication. While Spencer's response to Hines remains undisclosed, it is evident that Microsoft's approach of segregating platforms has not changed, considering Spencer's recent commitment to Call of Duty's future on PlayStation.
Following the completion of the ZeniMax acquisition, Hines personally extended an apology to PS5 players regarding Starfield's exclusivity on Xbox. This unexpected promise from Microsoft that Activision Blizzard's game catalog will not be affected further surprised the executive, especially considering that Bethesda was not informed about this decision, which added to the concerns he expressed internally.
The FTC's attorneys have already examined these issues and subsequently suggested that the ZeniMax acquisition serves as an indication of what fate may await Activision Blizzard's catalog in the long term. Despite Microsoft's assurances, the agency in the United States is essentially arguing that the tech giant cannot be relied upon to refrain from removing Activision Blizzard's games from competing platforms once the dust settles from its $69 billion acquisition.
