Check upon purchase ActivisionBlizzard seems to be going deeper. As reported politicalLast night was the deadline for Microsoft to submit a series of commitments that would assuage the European Commission’s doubts about the $68,700 million deal. However, Redmond did not do this and opened the door to scrutiny by regulators.
The Phase 2 investigation is yet to be confirmed by the European Commission, which will make an official announcement before November 8th. However, video game industry analysts take it for granted that more in-depth research will be done. Especially to determine whether an acquisition could pose a threat to competition. Especially given what is happening in the UK, where the CMA has decided not to take the matter lightly.
During the first investigation into the purchase of Activision Blizzard, the European Commission questioned some of Microsoft’s competitors. In this sense, regulators focused on two key points– The operation of its cloud gaming platform and the potential risk that the company will restrict access to top-tier franchises such as Call of Duty.
The latter has become a constant topic of discussion, fueled even by Sony. The Japanese company has publicly expressed concern that Redmond representatives have decided to limit future launches of the popular shooter militant on PlayStation. Nonetheless, Phil Spencerthe CEO of Microsoft Gaming, has repeatedly denied that this is the case.
In fact, it’s the Xbox boss himself who recently assured that Regulatory control over Activision Blizzard purchase is ‘fair’. In an interview during the event Wall Street Journal Technology Livestated:
“It may surprise people, but I am not an expert in closing $70 billion deals. What I do know is that we are very focused on getting approval in the major jurisdictions and I spend a lot of time in Brussels, London and with the FTC here in the United States. I would say that the discussions were very fair and honest. This is a great purchase, no doubt. Microsoft […] is a great tech company and I think it’s worth discussing an acquisition of this magnitude and I appreciate the time that was spent on it.”
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
Microsoft looks to complete purchase of Activision Blizzard
Despite pressure from European, British and US regulators, Microsoft remains optimistic about approving the purchase. recently, Satya Nadellathe firm’s CEO in Redmond, said he was “very, very confident” that the Activision Blizzard acquisition would go ahead.
The executive says they will be far from being the top earners in the industry, even if an agreement is struck. And threw darts at Sony for their incessant complaints about the future. Call of Duty: “If it’s for competition, let’s compete”.
Part of Microsoft’s confidence in acquiring Activision Blizzard lies in the argument that its main interest is not to take advantage of the console world, but to entering the mobile games market. A few days ago it became known about the corporation’s plans to create a game store for smartphones and tablets, competing with the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
“Microsoft does not currently have a significant presence in mobile games and the deal will bring much-needed expertise in mobile game development, marketing and advertising. Activision Blizzard will be able to share its knowledge of mobile game development and publishing with Xbox game studios,” the regulator said in a statement.
There are still several months ahead before the purchase of Activision Blizzard is determined. In addition to investigations by the UK and the European Commission, what the US Federal Trade Commission determines will be critical. Microsoft hopes to close the deal before the end of fiscal 2023which ends on June 30 of the following year.
Source: Hiper Textual
