Xbox FTC Trial: Experts Argue Over Whether Call of Duty Is a Unicorn

Experts testifying during the Microsoft FTC court hearing can’t seem to agree on one important point: Is Call of Duty a unicorn?

Today was day three of the court battle that could determine the fate of Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and we saw both Microsoft and the United States’ Federal Trade Commission call economic experts to the stand. For the FTC, it was Dr. Robin Lee, while Microsoft called Dr. Elizabeth Bailey. And the two didn’t agree on Call of Duty’s significance in the video game market.

When Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley asked if Call of Duty is a unicorn — meaning a one-of-a-kind asset in terms of durability, popularity, and sales numbers — the two experts had differing opinions.

Dr. Lee testified first, and acknowledged that Call of Duty is a unicorn that can’t easily be replaced by other content. Say, if Xbox were to make Call of Duty exclusive, PlayStation wouldn’t be able to replicate it easily in its own portfolio. Dr. Lee argued that Call of Duty’s annualized release schedule is part of what sets it apart from the competition, given that most franchises don’t ship content on a yearly cycle.

“I do think the supply of new content is evidence that it’s scarce, because AAA games don’t come out that frequently,” Dr. Lee said.

Later in the afternoon, Dr. Bailey disagreed, saying Call of Duty is not essential, critical, must-have, or uniquely important. Dr. Bailey argued that Call of Duty is not a unicorn, and that Dr. Lee’s markets are “too narrow” and don’t align with market realities. Dr. Bailey went on to say that the merger could expand the visibility and reach of Activision games.

Call of Duty has easily been the hottest topic of the Microsoft FTC court battle so far. Other games like Starfield have come up a fair amount too, with PlayStation boss Jim Ryan admitting today that Starfield’s Xbox exclusivity is not an anti-competitive move. For more, check out our full recap of the court battle so far.

Additional reporting by Rebekah Valentine.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over seven years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.