If the FTC is successful in blocking Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for, among other things, withholding “content from its gaming rivals,” would this change how platform exclusivity works in games? — Jason Wilson
With the news breaking that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit today to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the company is forced to defend its plan. Over the last weeks, Microsoft has been working on appeasing competitors and regulatory authorities that voice antitrust concerns, encouraging investors and preparing to fight the FTC lawsuit.
In a bid to fend off objections to its planned acquisition, Microsoft offered PlayStation manufacturer Sony a 10-year distribution deal for Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty, one of the most popular franchises in gaming. Microsoft president Brad Smith explained that Sony is the most outspoken opponent of the Activision Blizzard deal, which is “why we’ve offered Sony a 10-year contract to make each new Call of Duty release available on PlayStation the same day it comes to Xbox.” However, Sony is said to be unlikely to accept the deal, as it doesn’t address all the company’s concerns.
Microsoft had better luck with Nintendo, agreeing to a 10-year deal that will bring Call of Duty to Nintendo’s Switch console. According to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, the deal is also subject to an extension. Furthermore, Spencer shared that Microsoft committed to continue to offer Call of Duty games on PC gaming platform Steam once the Activision Blizzard acquisition is completed.
Aside from attempting to appease competitors with Call of Duty deals, Microsoft is exercising political influence, with Smith meeting three Democratic members of the FTC on Wednesday, trying to persuade them not to block the deal.
Evidentially, Smith’s efforts were unsuccessful. Following a closed-door meeting today, where the agency discussed the planned Activision Blizzard acquisition, the FTC announced that it is seeking to block the acquisition. FTC Director Holly Vedova explained that “Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” therefore, the acquisition would harm the competition and constitutes an antitrust violation. — Tobias Seck
Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty League made its 2023 season debut on Twitch on Friday after its three-year, $160 media rights deal with YouTube ended. Now streaming without a deal, the league was free to explore its options, moving to Twitch while allowing co-streams to help bolster viewership numbers for qualifier Major I on Dec. 15-18 in Raleigh, N.C.
According to league sources, qualifier competition averaged over 100,000 viewers, with a peak viewership of over 160,000. However, the figure does not account for co-streams that when added would see a peak viewership of over 185,000 viewers. The top watch party came from former Call of Duty League pro Thomas “ZooMaa” Paparatto — who co-hosts the popular CDL-focused podcast, The Flank. But when looking at the numbers, there is a small caveat in that peak viewership for the Call of Duty Twitch channel did not occur at the same time with the peak co-stream viewership, which is why those numbers have more viewers than the overall combined peak.
Co-streaming has been popular among tournament organizers, as game data firm Newzoo reported in April that co-streaming will be a vital part of success and growth for such entities. Popular Brazilian streamer Alexandre “Gaules” Borba helped the IEM Rio Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major become a huge success because of his co-streaming, peaking at 534,528 viewers during the tournament.
Comparing to the previous CDL season’s first competitive matches, which took place at the Kickoff Classic from Jan. 21-24, 2022 viewership was a little underwhelming, averaging just over 47,000 viewers while peaking at 79,753 while on YouTube.– Kevin Hitt
Co-streaming helped boost Call of Duty League numbers on Twitch
In October, Brian “FaZe Rug” Awadis signed with sports management company Excel. On Wednesday, fellow FaZer Nate Hill has done the same. The undercurrent? It’s director of basketball partnerships Nikhil Jayaram, who used to be FaZe Clan’s talent manager.
“We [myself and Jayaram] worked closely together at FaZe for four years. Ever since I got into FaZe, he was my guy, my go-to,” Hill told Sports Business Journal. “When he went to Excel, it was a no-brainer.”
Hill is a former model who has been streaming since 2017. With FaZe, he’s played in NFL-partnered flag football events and is an ambassador for State Farm and Comcast.
His comfort with Jayaram could echo with other FaZe Clan members, Hill notes, and could be the start of a pipeline to the agency. — Hunter Cooke
FaZe Clan’s Nate Hill has signed with Excel for representation.
- Samsung is the smartphone partner for the ESL-FaceIt Group’s Snapdragon Pro Series. The mobile esports competition’s Mobile Challenge and Mobile Masters levels will use Galaxy devices as part of this deal.
- Major League Soccer and EA reveled the 2023 eMLS, with a season prize pool of $100,000 and a new competitive format. Two sets of series play in January and February lead to the eMLS Cup at SXSW in Austin on March 11-12. The LA Galaxy will work with FaZe Clan to build its roster.
- As the Super Smash Bros. competitive community continues to roil, Panda Global CEO Alan Bunney resigned amid accusations he played a pivotal role in the cancelation of the Smash World Tour’s finals.