Activision CEO Bobby Kotick believes PlayStation owner Sony is trying to “sabotage” Xbox’s acquisition of Activision. In early 2022, Xbox announced that it was intending to purchase Call of Duty publisher Activision for just shy of $70 billion. Given Call of Duty is such an entertainment juggernaut and Activision holds a lot of weight in this industry, the deal was a bit controversial. If it goes through, it will be the most expensive gaming acquisition to date. However, there are a lot of roadblocks for this deal. Regulators such as the FTC are making efforts to block the deal from going through, partially at the request of Sony who is unhappy with the deal. Sony fears that Xbox could make Call of Duty, one of the biggest franchises in gaming, exclusive to its platforms. Xbox has tried to ease concerns by proposing a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation with the option to extend it later, but Sony has rejected this.
