Microsoft is said to have made concessions, including a 10-year deal with PlayStation, to make the Activision Blizzard deal

Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard has faced a lot of scrutiny and pressure from regulators and lawmakers, and to help complete the deal, Microsoft may make several concessions. . According to ReutersSuch a concession could be a long-term licensing agreement for PlayStation.

Citing a source, the report said Microsoft’s main remedy against regulators at the European Commission would be a “10-year license agreement” with Sony. That’s all the report goes into on the matter, but perhaps this has to do with the Call of Duty series that Sony has caused a stir about exclusivity.

The New York Times reported that on November 11, Microsoft offered Sony a 10-year contract for Call of Duty on PlayStation.

Stephane Dionnet, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery told Reuters that Microsoft offering a concession like this could help close the deal. It also may not be enough given the scope of the deal and the level of concern among regulators not only about Call of Duty but also other factors, Dionette said.

The European Commission will announce its decision by April 11, and it is just a regulator that needs to approve the deal or not. A Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters the company continues to commit to releasing Call of Duty games on the same day on Xbox and PlayStation platforms.

“We want people to have more access to games, not less,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion bid to buy Activision Blizzard has been approved in places like Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Brazil. The US FTC is investigating the deal and has more than 10 staff members tasked with reviewing the deal, the New York Times reported, adding that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft president Brad Smith was interviewed by the FTC earlier this year.

More recently, it has been reported that the The FTC “likely” will file an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft’s proposed bid to buy Activision Blizzard. Nadella and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick were ousted as part of the FTC investigation, a report from Politico said.

Microsoft says the main reason for trying to buy Activision Blizzard was not to make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox but to buy Candy Crush from Activision Blizzard and Gain a foothold in the increasingly lucrative mobile gaming space.