Call of Duty’s relevance sidelined in latest Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger deal approval

Chile has become the latest country to approve Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

As reported by Gamesindustry.biz, the Fiscalía Nacional Económica of Chile authorized the acquisition on Dec. 29, shortly before the New Year’s holiday. Chile is the third country to approve the merger, following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Even so, the merger is facing significant roadblocks in other countries: in the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission recently filed a lawsuit to block the acquisition, and the U.K.’s CMA has been running an investigation of the deal for several months now.

Chile’s Fiscalía Nacional Económica released a Spanish-language statement explaining its decision to approve the merger. In a Google translation run by Gamesindustry.biz, the government organization said that Call of Duty is less relevant in Latin America than in other regions around the world, meaning that fewer players would likely purchase Microsoft consoles simply to play the game should it ever become an exclusive. The FNE doesn’t think the latter will happen at all; instead, it believes rival studios and console makers, including Sony and Nintendo, would ultimately prevent Microsoft from pulling Call of Duty from non-Xbox platforms.

Thanks to its massive worldwide popularity, Call of Duty has been a key player in all facets of the proposed acquisition. Amid fears that the merger would prompt Microsoft to make the franchise exclusive to its own platforms, the company has promised to keep Call of Duty on Steam and rival consoles for 10 years.

Fellow console maker Sony has released several statements claiming that the merger would give Microsoft too much control over some of the world’s biggest game franchises, which in turn would potentially influence consumers’ choice of console and hurt fair market competition.