We read on all sides that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion will be approved by the UK Competition and Markets Authority today. The more surprising is that CMA blocked Xbox connection with Call of Duty publisher.
Source: MicrosoftMicrosoft can’t sell Xbox consoles, but subscriptions are doing well
The UK regulator has not approved the deal due to concerns that it will change the future of the fast-growing market and cloud gaming, leading to less innovation and less choice for UK players in the coming years..
At the same time, Microsoft entered into a ten-year agreement with Nvidia to bring games to the GeForce Now cloud service and a ten-year partnership with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty and other games to its platform.
The UK authorities explain that Microsoft has a strong position in the cloud gaming industry and the evidence it has suggests that it would be commercially beneficial for Microsoft to have Activision games exclusively for its own cloud gaming service.
According to authority Microsoft failed to effectively solve problems in the cloud gaming industry.
“Microsoft already accounts for approximately 60-70% of global cloud gaming services and has other significant advantages in cloud gaming through its ownership of the Xbox console, the leading PC operating system (Windows) and global cloud infrastructure (Azure and Xbox Cloud Gaming). )”.
“This acquisition will solidify Microsoft’s market leadership by gaining control of important gaming content such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and World of Warcraft. The data available to the CMA suggests that without the merger, Activision would have started delivering games via cloud platforms for the foreseeable future.“.
“The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive game consoles and PCs and gives them a lot more flexibility and choice in how they play. Allowing Microsoft to have such a strong position in the cloud gaming market at a time when it is starting to grow rapidly could undermine the innovation that is critical to the development of these capabilities.“.
MICROSOFT IS APPEALING
Microsoft President Brad Smith has confirmed that he will appeal the CMA decision. According to Smith, this is a CMA decision. disappointment.
“We remain fully committed to this acquisition and will be filing an appeal. The CMA’s decision rejects a pragmatic way of dealing with competition issues and discourages technological innovation and investment in the UK.” Brad Smith of Microsoft said.
“We have already signed agreements to make popular Activisioun Blizzard games available on an additional 150 million devices, and we remain committed to strengthening these agreements through regulatory action. We are particularly disappointed that, after much deliberation, this decision appears to reflect a misunderstanding of this market and how cloud computing actually works.”
Activision Blizzard will cooperate with Microsoft and file an appeal. criticizes CMA for doing a disservice to UK citizens.
“Today’s CMA report is a major setback for the UK’s ambition to become a technology hub and we will be working with Microsoft to have it overturned on appeal. The news also does a disservice to UK citizens who are facing an increasingly poor economic outlook and we will have to rethink our growth strategy in the UK. Global innovators big and small will take note that despite all the rhetoric, the UK is closed for business.”
PENDING THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, SMALL MARKETS APPROVED THE ACQUISITION
European Commission must make a final verdict on the acquisition 22.5. this year. But the United States is most viewed, where Federal Trade Commission sues Microsoft in an attempt to block the merger due to antitrust concerns.
Conversely, smaller markets favor the merger. Namely Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Serbia, Chile and most recently Japan.
Source :Indian TV
