Microsoft's proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard has put the US giant at odds with Sony, the maker of Playstation 5. Recently, Microsoft announced partnerships with Nintendo and NVIDIA to promise access to the Call of Duty series and to bring Xbox games to NVIDIA GeForce NOW.
Now, it appears that Sony is being forced to feed its trade secrets to the Xbox maker. While's Sony's pushback to Microsoft's potential Activision Blizzard takeover continues, the company subpoenaed Sony mid-January 2023, requesting access to years of sensitive company filings, including trade secrets.
Even amid Sony's protests, it appears that Microsoft's request has been granted. Essentially, now Sony would have to reveal information about its exclusivity deals and four years worth of company records to help make Microsoft's case about why this acquisition should be allowed to go through, GameRant reported.
While Microsoft requested information from the last 10 years, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) limited the scope of required disclosure to deals after 2019.
Also read:?Microsoft Strikes Deals With Nintendo, Nvidia To Bolster Activision Acquisition
This is all part of Microsoft's pending trial with the US Federal Trade Commission that sued the company to block its Activision Blizzard acquisition on antitrust grounds in December 2022. The goal is to assess whether this proposed takeover would give Xbox too much power.
It appears that the Microsoft-Activision deal will go through. According to Reuters, the deal is likely to be approved by EU regulators, in the backdrop of Microsoft's deals with Nintendo and NVIDIA. So, the $68.7 billion deal will most likely be approved.
Also read:?The $69 Billion Microsoft-Activision Deal Now Faces EU Probe
Microsoft has also offered a licencing deal to Sony, but the company has vehemently protested it. Even if EU regulators approve the deal, Microsoft is not out of the woods yet - in the US and the UK.
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