sony claimed that Microsoftthe “true strategy” behind its plan to acquire ActivisionBlizzard is to have PlayStation “to become like nintendo” and not compete in the 18 rated shooting space.

The comments were made in a recently published response to the UK competition and markets regulator. decision to extend its investigation in the proposed acquisition.

In his 22-page response, Sony Interactive Entertainment alleges that if the deal were to go through, users would leave PlayStation’s ecosystem, Microsoft could increase Xbox prices, and independent developers would be harmed by the fallout.

As has been the trend with regulatory back and forth, much of the document focuses on Call of Duty and the perceived harm Sony claims the Activision Blizzard deal would cause, should the flagship franchise become exclusive to Xbox.

In a section of his statement, the platform holder points to the comments made by Microsoft that other platforms have thrived without Call of Duty, including nintendo switch. In its final response, Sony states that this claim “ignores the facts”.

SIE argues that Nintendo’s strategy is different from PlayStation and Xbox because it doesn’t rely on 18-rated shooter franchises — games it says Microsoft will have exclusive virtual ownership of if the Activision the deal is approved by global regulators.

In that sense, he alleges that Microsoft’s “real strategy” with the Activision Blizzard deal is to make PlayStation like Nintendo, in that it doesn’t compete in that space.

“Microsoft says Nintendo’s differentiated model demonstrates that PlayStation doesn’t need Call of Duty to compete effectively. But it does reveal Microsoft’s true strategy,” the SIE statement read. “Microsoft wants PlayStation to become like Nintendo , so that it would be a less close and less effective competitor to the Xbox.

“After the transaction, Xbox would become the one-stop-shop for all of the top-selling console shooter franchises (Call of Duty, Halo, armament of war+ Conviction, Surveillance), as explained in the decision, and would then be protected from serious competitive pressures.

SIE’s statement goes on to say that Activision’s games, “especially Call of Duty”, are “critical” to PlayStation.

“The franchise is firmly embedded in the psyche of gamers: every episode since Call of Duty first released in 2003 has consistently topped the charts,” he says, sharing redacted percentages from his audience. than he thinks he would be. lose to Xbox if CoD becomes exclusive.

“Ignoring these facts, Microsoft argues that Nintendo succeeded without access to Call of Duty,” he continued. “That misses the point. The decision identifies a wide range of evidence showing that Nintendo offers a differentiated experience to Xbox and PlayStation, as it focuses on family games that are very different from PEGI 18 FPS games like Call of Duty.

“This is corroborated by Microsoft’s internal documents, which the CMA says show that: ‘In general, Microsoft’s internal documents follow PlayStation more closely than Nintendo, with Nintendo often missing from any internal competitive assessments.’

Although Activision’s deal was approved by regulators in Saudi Arabia and Brazilthe UK Competition and Markets Authority recently extended its investigation to a second phase. It’s in the process of invite members of the public to share their point of view on the acquisition before making its final decision by March 1, 2023.

In its explanation of its decision to approve the acquisition, Brazil’s CADE said it agreed with Microsoft’s assertion that PlayStation didn’t need Call of Duty to stay competitive.

“As discussed previously, Nintendo does not currently rely on any Activision Blizzard content to compete in the marketplace,” he said.