Microsoft to FTC: Do not know when the next Call of Duty update will come – Times of India

Microsoft says that it does not know the launch date of Call of Duty, the game that is at the epicentre of the legal battle which the company is facing in multiple countries. The Windows-maker mentioned this in a reply to the Federal Trade Commision (FTC) lawsuit that seeks to block the deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, the video game company that owns the popular battle royale game.
To put things in perspective, Microsoft announced last year in January that it would purchase the game publisher for $68.7 billion and get “iconic franchises” including Call of Duty, Warcraft and Candy Crush. The company’s claims in the response are unbelievable given that they are shelling out a large chunk of money to get the publisher.
Furthermore, it is a practical and an educated guess that the parties that are involved in the deal that involves such a huge amount of money must have talked about the nitty-gritty of what is being offered and purchased.

Microsoft’s reply to FTC
A paragraph in the 37-page response to FTC says:
Microsoft avers that it lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations concerning industry perceptions of Call of Duty and Call of Duty’s original release date; or as to the truth of the allegations concerning Call of Duty’s launch and typical release schedule and the resources and budget Activision allocates to Call of Duty, including the number of studios that work on Call of Duty.

Microsoft’s problem in Activision Blizzard deal
Competitors, especially Sony, have been against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard because they feel Call of Duty, which brings a lot of revenue for gaming platforms, will become Microsoft-exclusive.
Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer has repeatedly said that the franchise will stay on rival consoles. Recently, Nintendo and Microsoft struck a deal to keep Call of Duty on Nintendo platforms for 10 years following the acquisition. The company also said it offered Sony a 10-year deal but the Japanese company, which reportedly did not agree to a three-year deal, hasn’t publicly responded to the 10-year offer.