Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard doesn’t seem to be a done deal yet. Now the British authorities are also expressing serious concerns.
We know that Microsoft wants to incorporate Activision Blizzard and that the deal is actually fixed. However, the settlement could take a long time, because the antitrust authorities of various countries are still in the process of checking whether the takeover will not affect competition. And without their approval, not much progress. The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now expressed serious concerns.
“The CMA is concerned that complete control of this powerful catalogue, particularly given Microsoft’s already strong position in gaming consoles, operating systems and cloud infrastructure, could result in Microsoft hurting consumers by undermining the competitiveness of Sony – Microsoft’s closest Games rivals – impaired,” it says, among other things.
While PlayStation currently has the larger market share, losing access to strong Activision brands like Call of Duty could change that quite quickly, especially when launching a new generation of consoles. The report also argues that Microsoft could use its ownership of the Activision Blizzard library to harm its competitors, including Sony, by making them available through Game Pass.
Now it’s up to Microsoft to address these concerns over the next few days. Otherwise, the CMA could allow for another, more in-depth investigation phase, delaying the acquisition even further. The first reactions from Microsoft and Activision Blizzard sound very relaxed so far.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: “As our industry continues to see numerous companies investing aggressively in games, including many of the world’s largest technology and media companies, government regulators are taking appropriate and deliberate steps to protect our industry and the growing competition from the… better understand the whole world.”
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer argues that by adding games like Call of Duty, Overwatch and Diablo to Game Pass and opening up “new distribution opportunities via the cloud, Microsoft is increasing choice for gamers and game developers. He also reiterated Microsoft’s principled statement that Keeping Call of Duty on the PlayStation, as was done with Minecraft after the Mojang acquisition.
Felix and Pirmin were at the Microsoft booth at gamescom and looked at three games at the same time. Lies of P, Pentiment and A Plague Tale: Requiem.
