'Better Off Announcing An Electric Car': Ex Sony CEO's Jibe At Microsoft-Activision Deal

Within the last 24 hours, a number of highly confidential and unredacted Microsoft docs have leaked and were posted publicly. An email exchange between CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan and Chris Deering, former head of PlayStation, about the FTC v. Microsoft case reveals that they deemed Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition as overvalued especially if it was a manoeuvre to overshadow PS5. 

Deering notes in the email that Activision's most talented developers will likely leave after the cash-out. "I guess MS can piss away that kind of valuation without being more harmed that helped, but I'm not losing a wink of sleep over the future of our baby," he wrote and added that the company would have been better off announcing an electric car.

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Sony's PlayStation Chief Did Not Think Microsoft’s Activision Deal Was About Xbox Exclusives

Ryan, in his response, notes that he never truly believed that Call of Duty would be withheld from PlayStation. Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision was regarded as disruptive since it could win a monopoly for Microsoft in cloud gaming and could prove harmful to its competitors like Sony and Nintendo. The blockbuster franchise, Call of Duty, was a major bone of contention in the lawsuit, since Microsoft's business decisions can affect how it is distributed to gamers.
 

"It is not an exclusivity play at all. They're thinking bigger than that, they have the cash the make these moves. I've spent a fair amount of time with Phil and Bobby and I'm pretty sure we'll continue to see COD on PlayStation for years to come," Ryan said in the mail. Ryan's email is contrary to Sony’s arguments against Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal since Sony has maintained it fears Microsoft could make CoD exclusive to Xbox and also jeopardise Xbox versions. 

Ryan went on to say, “We have some good stuff cooking,” most likely referring to Sony’s Bungie acquisition which was announced just days after the email exchange. “I’m not complacent, and I’d rather this hadn’t happened, but we’ll be OK, we’ll be more than OK.” It is important to note that Microsoft initially offered CoD on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ended. Ryan called that offer “inadequate on many levels.” Microsoft eventually offered Sony a 10-year deal for CoD on PlayStation, which company initially refused to sign.