Ricardo Cardoso, the Deputy Head of the Interagency & Communications Unit at the governing body, tweeted earlier this week that “the Commission is working to ensure you can play Call of Duty on other consoles (including my Playstation).” . The statement, while actually in line with the body’s remit, was met with criticism from some gamers for Sony’s perceived bias, especially after repeated assurances from Xbox that Call of Duty would remain on PlayStation for the foreseeable future. Now, the European Commission has clarified in a statement to Tweaktown that Cardoso is not involved in the process at all.
Accolades Trailer | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
“Mr Cardoso works for the Director General for the Internal Market and not for the Directorate General for Competition,” the statement said. “Mr. Cardoso was not involved in the evaluation of this transaction. Furthermore, as his Twitter profile clearly states, he tweets in a personal capacity.” On Saturday, Cardoso tweeted the following: “To clarify: I am not involved in the merger review and I do not even work in the department that deals with mergers. As is clear from my profile, my comments are personal and not the position of the Commission, whose decision will be made based on the facts and the law.” Note: To display this integration, please allow the use of Functional Cookies in your Cookie Preferences. In replies to the original tweet, the use of the word “my” when referring to the PlayStation seems to have angered fans the most, however, Cardoso was seemingly referring to the console he owns, rather than an allegiance to a platform. The European Commission has officially launched an in-depth investigation into Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As expected, after its initial investigations into the $68.7 billion deal, the European watchdog said on Tuesday it had opened a “phase II” investigation due to competition concerns. “The Commission is concerned that the proposed acquisition may reduce competition in the markets for the distribution of console and personal computer (“PC”) video games and for computer operating systems,” it said. While the deal has been approved by regulators in Saudi Arabia and Brazil, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority recently extended its investigation into a second phase. It is in the process of inviting the public to share their views on the takeover before making its final decision by March 1. The US Federal Trade Commission could reportedly issue its decision on the deal this month. Microsoft’s head of gaming, Phil Spencer, recently said he believes the strict scrutiny from regulators is “fair” and “justified” and that he remains confident the deal will be approved.
