Watchdog flags competition concerns for Microsoft and Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard’s £50bn deal
Regulators have flagged competition concerns over Microsoft’s $68.7bn acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, giving the US giants until next week to provide evidence.
In an update this morning, the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) said it was concerned that if Microsoft successfully buys Activision Blizzard it could “harm rivals”, including recent and future entrants into gaming, “refusing them access to Activision Blizzard games or providing access on much worse terms”.
Microsoft already has a leading gaming console, Xbox, a cloud platform with Azure, and the PC operating system with Windows OS, all of which could be important to its success in cloud gaming.
The Activision deal includes iconic franchises, including Warcraft and Candy Crush, as well as its global eSports activities through Major League Gaming.
If the deal is a success, it would make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company by revenue, just behind Tencent and Sony.
The concern from the CMA is that the Silicon Valley giant could leverage its purchase of the gaming firm and dominate the console, cloud, and PC operating systems space.
As a result of these worries, the CMA has given the companies five working days to provide evidence.
Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith said: “We’re ready to work with the CMA on next steps and address any of its concerns. 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. We want people to have more access to games, not less.”
If the watchdog is not convinced by this evidence, it can choose to launch an in-depth “Phase 2 investigation” into the deal, which will examine “whether it is more likely than not that a substantial lessening of competition will occur as a result of the merger”.
Activission Blizzard were not immediately available for comment.
The post Watchdog flags competition concerns for Microsoft and Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard’s £50bn deal appeared first on CityAM.
For all the latest Technology News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
