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Microsoft claims to have no idea why ‘Call of Duty’ franchise is special
DH Web Desk
Last Updated IST

US tech giant Microsoft in a report filed to FTC said they have no idea why 'Call of Duty' is special or even when it came out. According to The Verge, an American technology news website, last year in January Microsoft announced it would spend $68.7 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, highlighting how it would get 'Call of Duty', 'Warcraft' and 'Candy Crush' for that fee. However, the new website has reported that Microsoft's lawyers are suddenly pretending they have no idea why 'Call of Duty' is special or even when it came out. The Verge has shared that Microsoft's 37-page reply to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit seeking to block the Activision Blizzard deal includes the following passage: "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."
In its complaint, the FTC argued that acquiring Activision Blizzard would "enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles. A lot of people have been worried about the future of "Call of Duty," to the point where Xbox CEO Phil Spencer publicly assured the public that the franchise will be accessible on PlayStation for as long as PlayStations are in production. In its response to the FTC, Microsoft cited its promise to expand, not limit, the availability of Activision's flagship series by bringing it to the Nintendo Switch. As per The Verge, Nintendo and Microsoft have agreed to keep Call of Duty on Nintendo platforms for 10 years following the acquisition and offered Sony a 10-year deal too.

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(Published 04 January 2023, 10:21 IST)