Xbox-Activision Blizzard Acquisition: The planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is currently being scrutinized by the European Commission. The European Commission has initiated a comprehensive inquiry into the business plan, as was announced earlier today. The Commission is reportedly concerned that the transaction “may restrict competition in the markets” for video games and personal computers, as stated in the press release. The Commission will have time to make a judgment until the 23rd of March in 2023.
The European Union will pursue an in-depth investigation of Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard over competition concerns https://t.co/MRtyPrcR7L
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 8, 2022
The Story Behind Microsoft’s Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard So Far
In particular, the Commission expressed its concerns about Call of Duty in the following statement: “In particular, the Commission is worried that, by purchasing Activision Blizzard, Microsoft may block access to Activision Blizzard’s console and PC video games,”, particularly to high-profile and highly popular games (so-called “AAA” games), such as “Call of Duty.”
Call of Duty will continue to be available on PlayStation consoles, according to statements made by Microsoft on multiple occasions since the official investigation into the planned merger began. Call of Duty will continue to be available on PlayStation “as long as there is a PlayStation to ship to,” as Xbox’s Phil Spencer stated just last week in his most recent statement of assurance to the gaming community.
In point of fact, Call of Duty was referenced in the formal answer that Xbox provided to the investigation that was conducted by the European Commission. The following was said by a spokesperson for Microsoft to The Verge’s Tom Warren: “Sony, as the industry leader, says it is worried about Call of Duty, but we’ve said we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation.” [Call of Duty] is a first-person shooter video game series developed and published by Activision.
In the announcement, the European Commission also notes that it will study the acquisition’s possible impact on video game subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. These services are examples of potential targets for the investigation. The last thing that will be looked into by the Commission is whether or not the acquisition of Microsoft would “discourage customers to acquire non-Windows PCs” if Microsoft were to merge “Activision Blizzard’s games and Microsoft’s distribution of games via cloud game streaming to Windows.”
Microsoft is reportedly facing prolonged investigations into its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in both the UK and Europe.https://t.co/F4mjnsc4Mv
— Andy Robinson (@AndyPlaytonic) September 14, 2022
Concerns raised by the European Commission are comparable to those raised by the government of the United Kingdom, which solicited feedback from the general public not long ago over this issue. The massive purchase made by Microsoft has also been criticized by a number of senators in the United States, as well as by New York City and the Justice Department in the United States. Throughout the entirety of the evaluation process, Spencer has expressed his satisfaction with the work being made on the acquisition.
Final Words
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