His statement comes as he sought to defend the biggest-ever video gaming deal from a regulatory attack.
On Wednesday, the leaders of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard sought to allay antitrust concerns that a proposed $69 billion merger of the two companies would unlawfully concentrate power.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that making Activision games exclusive would make ‘no strategic sense.’
The Federal Trade Commission asked a judge to stop the proposed acquisition because, it argued that it would give Microsoft, maker of the Xbox console, exclusive access to Activision games, which include the highly popular “Call of Duty.”
That would leave Nintendo and Sony Group out in the cold, the FTC has said.
Nadella said he would “100%” commit to keeping the Call of Duty shooter game on Sony’s gaming platforms.
Last week, Phil Spencer, who heads Microsoft Gaming, also vowed under oath not to exclude the title from PlayStation consoles.
The promises were made to US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who must decide whether to halt the Microsoft deal — which has a July 18 closure deadline — while the FTC’s legal challenge to the blockbuster transaction plays out.
While answering questions from both Microsoft’s and the FTC’s attorneys during his nearly 45 minutes on the stand, Nadella shared a light moment with the judge, who asked him if he plays Activision’s hugely popular Candy Crush mobile game. “I do,” he said with a hearty laugh. “And Call of Duty.” Nadella said he personally doesn’t support content exclusivity on consoles.
“If it was up to me, I would love to get rid of” exclusives on consoles, he said. But Sony, the dominant console market player, has “defined competition using exclusives,” Nadella said. “So that’s the world we live in. I have no love for that world,” he said.
The FTC argues the deal would harm Microsoft’s rivals, including Sony — if Call of Duty is excluded from PlayStation devices.
The agency also said that the deal would weaken competition in the up-and-coming cloud market, which lets gamers stream games to PCs and consoles rather than downloading them.
Microsoft’s attorney Rakesh Kilaru asked Nadella if he thinks cloud gaming could replace console gaming. The company has argued that the FTC’s cloud gaming concern is a stretch given that the technology is still being developed.
“It’s tough,” Nadella said, explaining that Microsoft’s cloud gaming efforts haven’t “worked out” as well as the company had hoped.
“Satya made it abundantly clear that Microsoft will honor its commitments to its partners and the gaming community to bring more games to more players,” Microsoft said in a statement.
Nadella’s testimony came after Activision CEO Bobby Kotick testified earlier on Wednesday that if Microsoft bought his company and blocked other gaming platforms from offering “Call of Duty,” it would alienate many of the 100 million monthly active users and hurt its popularity.
“You would have a revolt if you were to remove the game from one platform,” said Kotick. He added that it was vital to offer the game across multiple platforms, including consoles, mobile phones and personal computers.
Kotick argued there was no incentive for Microsoft, if it closes the deal for Activision, to restrict who offers the company’s games. For example, he said that removing “Call of Duty” from Sony’s PlayStation would be “very detrimental” to Activision’s business.
He also acknowledged that the deal, which he said earlier on Wednesday he wants “very much” to close, would result in his personal shares being valued at over $400 million.
The deal has won approval from many jurisdictions but has been opposed by the FTC in the United States and Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority.
(With inputs from Bloomberg, Reuters)
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Updated: 29 Jun 2023, 06:32 AM IST
