Shortly before the start of The Game Awards 2022, Microsoft learned that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Sueto block Activision’s nearly $69 billion acquisition of Blizzard.
A U.S. government agency says the purchase of Call of Duty publisher by Xbox owner will allow it to gain control of top video game brands, which damage to competition in the field of game consoles and prepaid services. The FTC fears that Microsoft will prevent or restrict competitors from accessing popular content.
The FTC claims that Microsoft crushes competition with acquisitions, which then has no access to content for their consoles. Here he mentions the 2021 acquisition of ZeniMax, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks and id Software, and cites Starfield and Redfall as examples that will be Xbox exclusives and won’t be released on competing consoles. And this despite the fact that earlier European authorities assured that they had no motive to suspend the release of games for competing consoles.
“Today, we’re committed to preventing Microsoft from taking control of a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in several dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.” we’ll read in the FTC press release from the director’s office.
The FTC considers Activision Blizzard to be one of a very small number of top video game developers that create and publish high-quality video games for a variety of devices. And he notes that the publisher’s games like Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft are currently attracting 154 million monthly active users.
But this may change after the acquisition is approved. With control over Activision’s popular franchises, Microsoft will have the means and motive to harm competition by manipulating Activision’s prices, reducing the quality of Activision games or the player experience on competing consoles and game services, changing the terms and conditions of access to Activision content, or completely denying providing content to competitors that would harm consumers.
In other words, Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard. received an unfair advantage that would stifle innovation in areas such as subscription gaming services and cloud gaming..
The FTC fears something that Microsoft has previously dismissed. The company said, among other things, that the deal with Activision Blizzard is a win-win for everyone, including gamers and developers.
MICROSOFT STILL BELIEVE
Microsoft responded to the FTC statement with the words of Vice Chairman and President Brad Smith.
“We continue to believe that this deal will increase competition and create more opportunities for players and game developers.” Smith wrote. “We have been determined to address competition issues from day one, including by offering concessions to the FTC earlier this week.”
By these concessions, Microsoft means publishing Call of Duty on the PlayStation within 10 years. The company has also committed to bringing Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch and keeping the brand on Steam.
“We have full confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to take our case to court” Smith added.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was announced in January of this year. The deal was heavily criticized by rival Sony, which called Call of Duty a blockbuster that changes the balance of power on consoles. More details, for example, here.
DETAILED INVESTIGATION FROM EUROPE AND THE UK
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Source :Indian TV
