Microsoft wanted to 'spend Sony out of business' to strengthen Xbox

It seems that Microsoft’s saga of trying to acquire Activision Blizzard is never ending and as a result of the recent FTC court case, we’re getting plenty of juicy inside details.

In January 2022, Microsoft announced that it had set in motion plans toacquire Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion. Since then, the tale has seen endless hurdles and twists. Whether it be Sony PlayStation chief Jim Ryan trying everything he can to hinder the deal or market regulators throwing spanners into the works.

Back in April this year, despite reports making the rounds indicating that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was pretty much a done deal, the UK market regulator, the CMA sensationally blocked the deal raising concerns over the grip Microsoft would have with cloud gaming technology.

Then several weeks later, the FTC, the market regulator of the United States filed a temporary restraining order and an injunction to block Microsoft’s attempted takeover. Following the move by the FTC, both Microsoft and Sony representatives have been in court fighting a case for and against the acquisition.

In the latest story to develop from the FTC’s court case in the US, as reported by The Verge, it’s been revealed that Microsoft was ready to ‘spend Sony out of business’ in order to strengthen the Xbox brand.

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios boss, Matt Booty stated during the court case that he was actively encouraging Xbox CFO to splash the cash to strengthen the Xbox Game Pass library so that it can go toe-to-toe with Sony’s PlayStation Plus subscription service.

“We [Microsoft] are in a very unique position to be able to go spend Sony out of business,” said Booty when referencing the green brand spending $2 or $3 billion to get ahead of its rivals (Sony, Google and Amazon) by bringing new games to Xbox Game Pass first. “It is practically impossible for anyone to start a new video streaming service at scale at this point,” he continued.

In related news, the FTC court case has also revealed that Microsoft was willing to buy studios including SEGA, Bungie and more to topple Sony once and for all. Furthermore, the FTC believes that Xbox’s Starfield exclusivity is harming the Activision Blizzard takeover.