An Activision Blizzard executive has defended Microsoft's acquisition of the company by calling HBO's The Last of Us show "a true blockbuster."
Lulu Cheng Meservey, an executive at Activision Blizzard, has defended Microsoft's nearly $70 billion acquisition of Activision following the airing of The Last of Us episode 3. In a Twitter thread, Meservey refers to The Last of Us as "a true blockbuster" and mentions the official Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Twitter account, suggesting that they give the show a go.
Although this sounds like a nice recommendation from Meservey, there's actually more to it. The aim of the thread is to show how the series' success proves that the FTC concerns about Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard are unnecessary.
Hi @FTC — did you catch last night’s episode of The Last of Us? It was incredible.No wonder the show is breaking records. It’s a true blockbuster, watched by tens of millions.If you haven’t already, you should check it out. You may be particularly interested in the fact that pic.twitter.com/MhcT0DmOsMJanuary 30, 2023
In the thread, Meservey starts by highlighting just how popular the PlayStation adaptation is - after all, it has been renewed for a second season after airing just two episodes - they then go on to explain how the series is produced by Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions and is based on a PlayStation-exclusive IP of the same name.
"Sony has an unrivaled war chest of IP, not just in gaming but TV, movies, and music," Meservey says in the thread, "which can be developed into games, or can market existing games." Because of this, Meservey adds, "there’s no cause for concern" when it comes to Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal.
In December 2022, the FTC announced that it was suing to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard due to concerns that it could "enable Microsoft to suppress competitors", meaning it could affect competition in the gaming market if it were to restrict Activision titles, like the Call of Duty series, to Microsoft consoles.
On that specifically, Meservey said: "Sony’s talent and IP across gaming, TV, movies, and music are formidable and truly impressive. It’s no wonder they also continue to dominate as the market leader for consoles." The tweet continues, "in gaming, Sony is 'the first of us' - and they will be just fine without the FTC’s protection."
It's now been just over a year since Microsoft announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, and despite all the obstacles it has come up against, both Microsoft's CEO and Activision's CEO have said they're confident that the deal will go ahead as planned. More recently, the acquisition got a vote of support from the European Games Developer Federation (EGDF) however, around the same time, Google and Nvidia expressed "concern" to FTC over Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Take a look at our upcoming Xbox Series X games list to find out what else Microsoft is currently working on.
