The European Commission is monitoring the acquisition proposal from Activision Blizzard from Microsoft. In fact, it has recently launched ainvestigation in-depth on the agreement Xbox/Activision Blizzard.
The Activision Blizzard and Xbox Agreement Investigation
As announced today, the European Commission has opened athorough investigation on the commercial proposal between Microsoft e Activision Blizzard. According to the press release, the Commission fears that the transaction “could reduce competition in the markets” of video games and gods PC. The Commission has until March 23, 2023 to make a decision.
In particular, the Commission mentioned concerns related to Call of Duty in the following statement:
“In particular, the Commission fears that, by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft may foreclose access to Activision Blizzard console and PC video games, especially high-profile and highly successful ones (so-called” AAA “games) such as” Call of Duty “”.
Since officials began examining the merger proposal, Microsoft has repeatedly shared the intention to keep Call of Duty on consoles PlayStation. The latest reassurance from Phil Spencer of Xbox came just last week, when it stated that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation “as long as there is a PlayStation to ship it to.”
In fact, the official answer of Xbox to the European Commission investigation even mentioned Call of Duty. In a statement released by a Microsoft spokesperson a Tom Warren of The Verge, Microsoft said that “Sony, as the industry leader, is concerned about Call of Duty, but we have stated that we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation.”
The European Commission communiqué also mentions that it will investigate potential impact of the acquisition on video game subscription services, such as Xbox Game Pass e PlayStation Plus. Finally, the Commission will also consider whether the acquisition by Microsoft could “discourage users from buying non-Windows PCs” if Microsoft were to combine “Activision Blizzard games and Microsoft’s game distribution via cloud game streaming on Windows. “.
The concerns of the European Commission are similar to those of the British government, who recently asked for a public opinion on the matter. Microsoft’s huge purchase was also subject of criticism by several US senators. Throughout the entire review process, however, Phil Spencer said he felt “okay with the progress of the acquisition.”