The UK Competition and Markets Authority has completed its first round, reviewing Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, marking the deal for a second, more in-depth review.
The CMA report, released on Thursday, found the deal “will lead to a genuine expectation of significantly less competition in game consoles, multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming services.”
Microsoft has repeatedly touted its cross-platform approach to Minecraft to convince regulators that it won’t make Call of Duty exclusive.
But I remain in the dark around The Elder Scrolls VI. Looks like I’m not the only one who noticed https://t.co/PlGHHw9v58 https://t.co/5rCzPPnZcw pic.twitter.com/FFqjUgC80i
—Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) September 1, 2022
Sorcha O’Carroll, CMA’s senior director of mergers, said that “Microsoft’s control over Call of Duty and World of Warcraft after the mergers, current and future competitors’ gaming subscription services in multi-cloud gaming “.
Sony and Activision Blizzard are currently tied in an agreement to make PlayStation the main platform for Call of Duty for the next few years, but once that deal is done, Microsoft could make one of the biggest franchises in modern gaming a Xbox exclusive. Indeed, several Activision Blizzard features were announced on Game Pass earlier this week.
The CMA pointed to Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 as examples of Microsoft creating major releases after a single console purchase (although Microsoft kept those plans under wraps when it came to Elder Scrolls 6).
Sony is considered Microsoft’s main competitor, as the CMA found that its content, audience, and console technology overlap more than Nintendo does with either company.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement, “We’re ready to work with the CMA on next steps and address any concerns you may have.” Said. “Sony, as an industry leader, says it’s concerned about Call of Duty, but we said we’re ready to make the same game available on Xbox and PlayStation today.” We want people to have more access to games. useless.”
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick released his own statement in which he wrote, “As we have said from the beginning, this is a long process. Subject to the required number of government approvals, we expect the deal to close within Microsoft’s fiscal year. end of June next year. We are fortunate to already have approval from several countries and the process with all regulators is going as we expected overall.
Kotick said he would begin holding town hall meetings at Activision Blizzard to keep employees informed on the progress of the acquisition.
Source : dbl tap
