During the first day of testimony at Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard trial, an Xbox executive claimed that COD almost didn’t make it to the Xbox Series X|S.
On June 12, the Federal Trade Commission filed an injunction seeking to block Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft must win its appeal with the CMA and its case against the FTC in federal court for the nearly $70 billion deal to go through.
Time is not on Microsoft’s side, as the merger agreement expires on July 18. An extension is on the table, but Activision Blizzard also has the power to walk away.
Microsoft started its battle with the FTC on June 22 to clear the first major hurdle, and fireworks already ensued during the first day of testimony.
Greater revenue share demands almost kept COD off Xbox consoles
CharlieIntel reported that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick demanded a greater revenue share to put Call of Duty on Microsoft’s platforms.
Microsoft’s Sarah Bond says Bobby Kotick made it clear “if we did not move beyond standard revenue share that he intended to not place Call of Duty on Xbox.”
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Reportedly, Kotick made the demand in 2021 and forced Microsoft to agree to his terms for COD revenue sharing.
Microsoft says they agreed to Kotick’s deal because otherwise there would be no Call of Duty on Xbox Series X|S
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) June 22, 2023
Bond explained that Microsoft accepted the deal because otherwise there would have been no Call of Duty on Xbox Series X|S.
“Time was limited. We had players whose expectations we wanted to meet, so we ultimately made a decision that it was the best thing for the business.”
CharlieIntel reported that the current revenue split appears to be 80/20, which goes against the industry standard of 70/30.
Four possible days remain for the Microsoft FTC trial. And it will be interesting to see what other nuggets surface during the next few days of testimonies.