The European Commission had until yesterday to issue an initial statement on the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. Without too much surprise, it decided to enter “Phase 2”, which leads to a deeper investigation to determine the potential competitive impact.
Like Britain’s CMA, the European Commission fears the Seattle giant will include large licenses such as call of Duty to some platforms.
The Commission is particularly concerned that Microsoft, through its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, is banning access to Activision Blizzard console and PC video games, in particular high-profile and successful games (so-called “AAA” games) such as “Call of Duty”. .
The next meeting of the commission will take place on March 23, 2023. She then has to make her decision based on her investigations. A deadline near Microsoft’s fiscal year-end in June, the tentative date for the acquisition to close.
