Newscast: Are Microsoft and Sony's squabbles over Call of Duty just business as usual?

Eurogamer Podcasts

This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the ongoing fallout from Microsoft and Sony's squabbling over Activision Blizzard and it's blockbuster franchise Call of Duty.

If you've been living under a rock for the last six months, this all stems from Microsoft's intent to buy Activision for 68.7bn, which Sony isn't too happy about. Recently we've heard arguments from Sony offering some of its views on the deal - that it would be bad news for PlayStation, essentially - and now Microsoft itself has hit back.

Microsoft has reiterated that it does not want to make Call of Duty an Xbox exclusive - for now, at least - and even said it would be an unprofitable move if it did so. Even more remarkably, it has also hit out at Sony for suggesting the Microsoft-Activision deal would stifle competition - and claimed PlayStation itself pays out money to block games coming to Xbox Game Pass.

But will any of this actually impact Microsoft's buyout plans? Is any of this even remarkable, in an industry fuelled by competition and game exclusives? Or is this simply business as usual - as usual as deals worth $68.7bn get? Eurogamer's Tom Phillips, Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan discuss.

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