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Tom Warren

Tom Warren

Senior Correspondent

Senior Correspondent

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    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    15-minute break so it’s our mission to recap the Call of Duty situation.

    We’re nearing the end of Activision CEO Bobby Kotick’s testimony, but we have a 15-minute break to let the court reporter relax for a moment (I feel your pain!). Let’s recap what we’ve heard from Kotick so far:

    • How does Activision make a Call of Duty game every year?

    • Kotick regrets not bringing Call of Duty to Switch

    • Will Microsoft make Call of Duty suck on PlayStation?

    • Activision isn’t currently interested in Xbox Game Pass

    • But why isn’t Activision into subscription services?

    • Why did Activision remove games from GeForce Now?

    • The future of Call of Duty on Switch

    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    Big testimony from Kotick over Call of Duty on the Nintendo Switch.

    The FTC is now pushing Bobby Kotick on mobile and Switch games, like Call of Duty mobile. Activision partnered with Tencent because Kotick admits “we couldn’t make that game on our own at the time.”

    The FTC is arguing here that Activision doesn’t have the experience to make Call of Duty on mobile, so why would Microsoft be able to create a version for Switch?

    Kotick responds:

    Literally from a high level they could evaluate what would be required or they could envision a game that they might make on Switch.

    The FTC then reveals Kotick only found out about the Nintendo Switch version of Call of Duty from news reports, and that the agreement also purports to bring a future Call of Duty game to a future Nintendo console.

    We would consider it once we had the specs, but we don’t have them at present. We missed out on the opportunity for this past generation of Switch, but we’d have to wait until the specifications. We don’t have any present plans to do so.

    But in Kotick’s previously testimony he says:

    I actually think we will likely make a Call of Duty game for a new Nintendo console. I can’t tell you there are specific plans, but I can tell you it’s something we’d consider.

    Judge Corley intervenes. “If the merger doesn’t go through, you said you made a mistake with the Switch, you’re not going to make that mistake again. What would be a reason not to?

    If we didn’t have the resources and there was something wrong with the specifications

    Judge Corley: So you’d like to be able to put Call of Duty on the Nintendo Switch?

    I think we would consider it and if it was something where we could make a great game we’d likely consider it.

    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    Why did Activision remove games from GeForce Now?

    Kotick discusses the removal of Activision games from GeForce Now after the brief beta period. “When they [Nvidia] launched the service commercially we removed our titles,” says Kotick. It sounds like Activision wanted a commercial deal with Nvidia or the games would disappear.

    In an internal Activision 2020 email, Kotick discusses a potential commercial agreement to bring Activision games back to GeForce Now. The email is full of talking points for a meeting with Bobby Kotick and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

    Kotick says he never used the talking points, but the FTC is painting a picture here that Activision would put its games on subscription services and cloud services if the price was right, if it could negotiate favorable commercial terms.

    An array of devices on a table, all displaying the Nvidia GeForce Now streaming service.
    Image: Nvidia
    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    Activision looked at Game Pass in 2020.

    The FTC reveals Activision was looking at putting its games on Xbox Game Pass in 2020, but “we made a decision not to include our games on Game Pass as a subscription service.”

    The FTC is catching Kotick out with his previous testimony as he’s being evasive here at answering questions he’s previously discussed in his investigational hearing.

    Judge Corley cuts in:

    Judge Corley: Why did you agree to the merger if you don’t think [game subscriptions] make commercial sense?

    Kotick: I don’t agree with the idea of a multi game subscription service as a business proposition going forwards, but we [Activision and Microsoft] can agree to disagree.

    Image: Microsoft
    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    FTC pushes Kotick on multi-subscription services.

    FTC points out that Activision’s core business is making games. It doesn’t make a console, doesn’t have a subscription service like Xbox Game Pass, and doesn’t offer a cloud streaming service. What this all means is Activision has the incentive to be everywhere.

    FTC: Activision hasn’t signed deals to offer COD first on other platforms, right?

    Kotick: It’s possible.

    FTC points out that Activision hasn’t made a formal decision about not putting its games on subscriptions. “We’d evaluate,” says Kotick and that Activision has experimented. “Generally speaking I don’t believe that a multi-subscription service for games is the best way to enable players to make their investments.”

    FTC points out that in previous testimony Kotick mentioned some themes are on Sony’s subscription service and that no formal decision had been made to offer other content.

    Kotick agrees there could be a strategic reason to offer content on game subscriptions “for a small duration of time, but not something sustainable.”

    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    FTC now pointing out how big Call of Duty is.

    The FTC’s lawyer is now questioning Kotick.

    The FTC points out that Call of Duty was the “number one selling console game” for 13 years in a row. Kotick confirms this is correct. He also confirms Call of Duty Modern Warfare II made $1 billion within 10 days of launching in 2022. It was also the highest grossing entertainment opening, that includes games, TV, and movies, but Kotick says it’s more comparable to box office figures.

    FTC points out there aren’t other console games that have had a more successful launch. “I think we’ve generally been the most successful of those games,” says Kotick.

    FTC points out that Call of Duty: Vanguard was a rare disappointment for Activision. “It was disappointing in the commercial results,” says Kotick. But it was still the number one selling game for consoles in 2021.

    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    Activision isn’t currently interested in Xbox Game Pass.

    Activision CEO Bobby Kotick isn’t currently interested in Xbox Game Pass or subscription services:

    “I have a general aversion to the idea of multi-game subscription services, maybe part of it is being in Los Angeles and having large, big media companies move their content to these subscription streaming services and the business results have suffered.”

    He confirms he wouldn’t put Call of Duty on a subscription service and that currently Activision is generating no revenues from these kind of services. Kotick also says the company has “experimented with a few streaming services,” but has no plan to put games on streaming services.

    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    Judge Corley wants to know about World of Warcraft.

    Judge Corley intervenes and wants to know why would anyone pay $15 a month for World of Warcraft instead of $70 for a game?

    “It was developed almost 20 years ago, and it’s a really rich experience where we’re playing for longer hours than most and historically what we’ve done is the content that you wouldn’t have to necessarily pay for so you pay $15 so you can access the content over time.”

    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    Will Microsoft make Call of Duty suck on PlayStation?

    Activision CEO Bobby Kotick discusses Sony’s claim Microsoft could degrade Call of Duty on PlayStation:

    “You’d vitriol from gamers that would be well deserved. People who make video games have great pride in the work they do.”

    Microsoft’s lawyer points out there are “different maps and weapons” on platforms and Kotick says not having these isn’t degrading a game and it’s marketing. Sony currently has a marketing deal with Activision for Call of Duty.

    Tom Warren
    Tom Warren
    Kotick regrets not bringing Call of Duty to Switch.

    “I made a bad judgment,” says Activision CEO Bobby Kotick about not bringing Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch. He says he thought Nintendo was trying to do too much with the Switch and that it wouldn’t be a success.

    “It’s probably the second biggest video game system of all time,” says Kotick, with deep regret.

    Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

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