Why the EU Antitrust investigates Microsoft-Activision
Brussels is investigating Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The EU antitrust authority will assess whether the $ 68.7 billion acquisition of the video game giant could have an impact on competition
Altolà of Brussels for Microsoft and its plans to acquire the US video game development company Activision.
The antitrust of the European Union has decided to launch an in-depth investigation into the operation of the Redmond technology giant.
As stated in a statement by the EU Commission, "the preliminary investigation showed that the transaction could significantly reduce competition in the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games, including subscription and streaming services, and for operating systems for PCs ".
Last January, the company founded by Bill Gates announced the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, author of famous video game series such as Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty and Candy Crush. Once the transaction is closed, the Redmond giant would become the third largest video game company in the world by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.
But for Microsoft the obstacles are not only in the EU: the company is facing the revision of the agreement by the antitrust authorities of several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, as The Verge points out, the European Commission's in-depth investigation into Microsoft's acquisition of Activision comes as no surprise, especially after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) signaled a closer look at the agreement in September .
The decision on whether to cancel or block the agreement by Brussels is expected by 23 March 2023.
All the details.
WHAT HAPPENED FROM THE PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE MICROSOFT-ACTIVISION OPERATION
The preliminary review of the deal found that Microsoft may be attempting to withhold games it is acquiring from other distributors, according to an EU press release.
"Such foreclosure strategies could reduce competition in the console and PC game distribution markets, leading to higher prices, lower quality and less innovation for console game distributors, which in turn could be passed on to consumers," said the EU.
The community body is concerned that the purchase "may preclude access to Activision Blizzard PC and console video games, especially high-profile and highly successful games (so-called 'triple A' games) such as' Call of Duty '". "We must ensure that the videogame ecosystem remains vibrant for the benefit of users," the statement continues.
ALL THE FEARS OF THE EU ANTITRUST
And, according to an EU press release, authorities are concerned that the deal could allow Microsoft to concentrate power in its cloud gaming service and prevent competing cloud services from accessing Activision games.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
The wide-ranging investigation, which could last until March next year, is also driven by fears that the acquisition could consolidate power in Microsoft's Windows operating system at the expense of the competition if Microsoft attempts to make its games for. Windows exclusive PCs.
THE MICROSOFT REACTION
"We are continuing to work with the European Commission on next steps and address any valid market issues," a Microsoft spokesperson said. “Sony, as an industry leader, is worried about Call of Duty, but we said we are committed to making the same game available on both Xbox and PlayStation on the same day. We want people to have more access to games, not less ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-lantitrust-ue-indaga-su-microsoft-activision/ on Wed, 09 Nov 2022 14:26:40 +0000.