Microsoft Publicly supports the continuation of its activities Activision SnowstormThe UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised concerns. Earlier this year, Microsoft surprised the gaming world by announcing plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for a nominal fee. $68.7 billion.
Today, regulators are beginning to realize this and are asking questions.
Microsoft Activision Blizzard, too big a monopoly?
The British CMA says it is “concerned”. Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard could significantly reduce competition in game consoles, multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming services”.
After the initial investigation, if Microsoft does not respond to the committee’s concerns within five business days, the AMC will initiate a second phase of investigation.
As part of Phase 2 of the investigation, a group of independent experts will examine in more detail the agreement signed by Microsoft and He monitors games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft to determine if he will harm his opponents.
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming and President of Xboxresponded by explaining the company’s position An article on the official Microsoft blog.
” […] We follow a principled path. We understand that this acquisition risks turning franchises like Call of Duty away from existing players. Therefore, as we have said before, we are committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation as well as other platforms on the same day. We will continue to allow players to play with each other on all platforms and devices.
- We know gamers appreciate this approach because we did it with Minecraft, which continues to be available on multiple platforms and has expanded to even more platforms since Mojang joined Microsoft in 2014. As we expand the Game Store to new devices and platforms, we’ll make sure to do so in a way that preserves developers’ ability to choose how they distribute their games.*
As we review this acquisition, we will continue to partner with regulators in the spirit of transparency and openness. We respect and appreciate the tough questions asked. Today’s gaming industry is strong and dynamic. Industry leaders like Tencent and Sony continue to grow their game libraries along with other entertainment brands and franchises loved by gamers around the world. We believe a comprehensive review shows that the combination of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will benefit the industry and gamers. »
Microsoft wants to be transparent
Brad Smith, President and Vice President of MicrosoftIt takes Phil Spencer’s notes on the Call of Duty situation even more directly.
” We are ready to work with CMA and resolve the issues in the next steps. […] Industry leader Sony is worried about Call of Duty, but we said we’re ready to launch the same game on Xbox and PlayStation on the same day. We want people to have more access to games, not less. »
Microsoft also announced that not bringing games like Call of Duty to rival consoles would not be profitable for the company.
While the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), CMA and European Commission are still analyzing Microsoft’s deal with Activision Blizzard, Saudi Arabia became the first country to approve the purchase last month.
Currently, Microsoft is still waiting for the operation It will be fully completed in the spring of 2023.
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Source : Millenium
