This Wednesday (12), the Competition and Markets Authority of England (CMA) detailed its concerns regarding the purchase of Activision Blizzard. According to the agency, the negotiation will impact competitiveness in the market. Microsoft didn’t like that, which called the CMA’s claims “unwarranted.”
in a documentthe entity said it was concerned that the agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard could harm Sony if the owner of the Xbox makes the content of the holding company exclusive to its platform.
The agency is also concerned that the company will use such content to compete with game-streaming rivals such as Amazon Luna and GeForce Now.
After examining a series of evidence, the CMA believes the merger meets the threshold for reference. […]giving rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial reduction in competition in game consoles, subscription services and cloud gaming.
In response, Microsoft said Sony “has the ability to adapt and compete. Players will ultimately benefit from this greater competition and choice.”
Microsoft is not happy with the UK regulator CMA over its Activision Blizzard takeover comments. Describes the regulator’s concerns as “unwarranted” and that it “adopts Sony’s complaints without considering the potential harm to consumers” 👀 🧵 1/3
The Redmond giant also mentioned the Japanese leader’s position in the console market, citing an installation base of 150 million for PS against 63.7 million for Xbox.
In addition, the company noted recent negotiations that Sony has made, such as the purchase of Bungie and Haven. And not only that: according to Microsoft, in 2021, there were over 280 exclusive and third-party titles on PlayStation — nearly five times as many as on Xbox.
Finally, Microsoft reaffirmed that it will keep the franchise Call of Duty on PS, claiming that removing them “would tarnish the Call of Duty and Xbox brands.” The company also argued that bringing Activision Blizzard games to Game Pass would give players more options.
Investigation is in the second phase
Last September, the CMA said it would take a closer look at the $68.7 billion deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. The process had a first phase, but was expanded to a second due to a number of concerns.
In fact, the acquisition of the holding company is being analyzed by regulators around the world precisely because of antitrust laws, which make the red light go up.
This second phase of the CMA investigation examines the agreement in greater detail and assesses whether or not a merger between two or more companies harms competition.
Here in Brazil, less than a week ago, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) approved the purchase without restrictions. According to the agency, the decision was made based on “the protection of competition as a means of promoting the well-being of the Brazilian consumer”.
While the UK is due to deliver the final verdict in March 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which also have some concernsis expected to comment next month.
With information: The Verge, Game Industry and Venture Beat
https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/2022/10/12/reino-unido-parece-desaprovar-compra-da-activision-blizzard-pela-microsoft/