Sit down and make yourself comfortable, another chapter in the romance of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is about to begin. This time, the one who gives his version of the legal epic is a famous expert lawyer in patents and antitrust laws whose opinion appears a few days after the agreement that the Redmond offered to the regulatory body belonging to the European Union with certain concessions which have not yet been revealed, but which would exclude Sony.
It is precisely this company that made different kinds of objections regarding the purchase of Microsoft and expressing their regrets to various regulatory bodies around the world, entities which in many cases have already given the green light to the purchase and seem to be looking askance at Sony’s apologies.
Microsoft’s takeover of Activision-Blizzard gains momentum
After MLex and the FT, Reuters also confirms that Microsoft’s repair offer to the EC does not mention Sony.
In other Activision Blizzard news, Epic’s Tim Sweeney hails Microsoft’s mobile app store plans.
Sony has lost control of the narrative. The conversation has progressed!
— Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents) March 20, 2023
Florian Mueller, an old wolf in the legal world who has Microsoft in his client portfolio and who is known to have worked with Blizzard himself as a consultant on a few occasions, indicated that “he knows of no other case in the world where the obstructive attitude of a complainant is so evidentand added that regulators “absolutely don’t like” this position.
Sony has repeatedly openly stated that it would rather block the acquisition of Activision Blizzard than sign another Call of Duty deal (remember this one expires in 2024) as companies like Nintendo, Nvidia, Boosteroid and Ubitus. The legal ring is still open, we will see who else is encouraged to rise and how many more fall.
