Call of Duty players are not going anywhere to play Call of Duty games.
Microsoft recently confirmed its statement that making Activision games, particularly the Call of Duty series, exclusive to Xbox consoles will only hurt itself through a YouGov survey.
Xbox head Phil Spencer previously mentioned in Nov. 2022 and early March that Microsoft has no intention of turning the Call of Duty series into an Xbox exclusive.
Call Of Duty Player Survey Results
Microsoft recently commissioned a survey from YouGov to determine if PlayStation users would move from the console to Xbox if Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard pushed through, per Gameranx.
Sony pointed out that a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) commissioned survey from DJS Research on Dec. 2022 found that 15% of their respondents, who are avid Call of Duty players, would switch from using the PlayStation to using the Xbox if the deal pulled through, per Axios.
The avid Call of Duty players in DJS Research's survey were gamers who spent at least 10 hours or $100 on the series in 2022.
However, Microsoft's commissioned survey from YouGov states that only 3% of all PlayStation users would move from the PlayStation to Xbox if the deal pulled through, while 10.5% of big Call of Duty players would move consoles.
For those unaware, YouGov is an international research data and analytics group headquartered in London, England, and is considered the most quoted market research source in the world, per the group's About Us page.
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YouGov's findings suggest that PlayStation players are unlikely to move from the PlayStation to the Xbox if the deal pulled through and that it wouldn't affect Sony's ability to compete in the video game industry should Microsoft's acquisition deal pushes through.
YouGov's findings support Spencer's statement that making the Call of Duty series Xbox-exclusive "would simply not be profitable" for both Microsoft and Activision.
Rima Alaily, the corporate vice president of Microsoft's Competition law Group, stated that it makes no sense for Microsoft to take the Call of Duty series off of PlayStation consoles in a bid to make it exclusive. She also stated that the number of players switching to Xbox from PlayStation isn't enough to make a withholding strategy profitable for Xbox.
The Ultimate Fate Of Microsoft's Acquisition Deal
While YouGov's findings contrast DJS Research's and that Microsoft now has a counter for Sony's argument, they are not identical. The latter research group focused on PlayStation players switching to a PC or Xbox should the deal pull through, while the former's survey covered only console switching; it did not include PCs.
Additionally, YouGov's findings on PC switching were obtained through write-ins. As such, the findings and conclusions presented in Microsoft's commissioned survey should be taken with a grain of salt.
Regardless, the CMA has until April 26 to make its final decision on whether Microsoft could go ahead with its acquisition of Activision - a day after the European Commission gives its own decision on the matter. There is no word yet regarding when the FTC will release its final decision about Microsoft's acquisition of Activision.
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