John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 01.30.2023 07:Jan AM EST

Microsoft Alleges Sony Lied to European Commission About Call of Duty Parity

Microsoft is no longer pulling its punches when it comes to Sony.

The California-based tech giant's vice president for communications recently accused Sony of lying to the European Commission regarding the parity of Activision's Call of Duty games should Microsoft gets the go-ahead for its acquisition deal.

Microsoft has been fighting tooth and nail to get its acquisition deal rolling, with Xbox head Phil Spencer promising that the Call of Duty franchise is not going away from PlayStation consoles.

Microsoft - Sony Activision Spat Details

I hear Sony is briefing people in Brussels claiming Microsoft is unwilling to offer them parity for Call of Duty if we acquire Activision.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

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— Frank X. Shaw (@fxshaw) January 28, 2023

Microsoft Vice President For Communications Frank X. Shaw accused Sony of lying to the European Commission on his official Twitter account. He mentioned that he heard that Sony was telling people in Brussels that Microsoft is unwilling to offer them parity for the Call of Duty franchise should Microsoft acquire Activision.

"Nothing could be far from the truth," Shaw interjected, saying that Microsoft has made its stance clear about its plans regarding the popular gaming franchise.

According to Shaw's tweet thread, Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year deal to give it parity on timing, content, features, quality, playability, and any other aspect of Call of Duty games. The company also said it is willing to make its offer enforceable through a contract, regulatory agreements, or other means.

However, with Sony as the console market leader, it is willing to defy business logic for Microsoft and exclude PlayStation gamers from the Call of Duty ecosystem as a result.

Shaw then reiterated Microsoft's goal in acquiring Activision, which is to bring Call of Duty and other Activision games to more people worldwide, allowing them to play these games where and how they want - an approach they previously used with Mojang Studios and its Minecraft game.

You may remember that Spencer released a blog post showing how beneficial Microsoft's acquisition of Activision will be for the gaming industry, highlighting its acquisition of Mojang Studios' Minecraft, which continues to be available on multiple platforms.

Spencer's blog post also assured regulators worldwide that it is committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day it launches elsewhere.

Sony has yet to address Shaw's allegations against it.

What Would These Allegations Mean to Sony?

While Shaw's statement is mere allegations and accusations so far, Sony did meet with the European Commission on Jan. 27 before Microsoft subpoenaed Sony for its FTC case.

According to a report from Gameranx through one of its sources, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan met with EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager and Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age.

However, the sources were unable to disclose what their discussion was about. Regardless, should Shaw's allegations and accusations turn out to be true, it would mean that Sony showed incredibly bad faith to Microsoft, which could backfire as it could affect the FTC and UK's CMA's investigation.