As part of his research on the Microsoft Activision Agreement, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) interviewed six third-party companies that would be affected by the merger about the potential impact of the acquisition. Three of the six said the merger would “negatively impact competition,” giving Microsoft the ability to shut out rival gaming platforms, which would largely mean PlayStation.
Several third parties believe that Microsoft already has a dominant portfolio
Between October 2022 and January 2023, during its Phase 2 investigation into the merger, the AMC asked six competitors or potential competitors how the deal would affect the gaming industry. was not revealed, half of them expressed their concern, in a summary of the debates recently published:
…(T)Very sostuvieron que la Fusion tendría un impacto negative en la competencia, incluso al brindar a Microsoft la capacity y el incentivo para excluir à los potential rivals y existentes en los espacios de juegos en la nube, suscripción multijuego de console y compra to play.
Meanwhile, two of the six third parties did not express concern about the deal, with one saying it was “too early to determine” the impact of the deal. fusion.
That said, one of the third parties claimed that Microsoft’s recent behavior, including its acquisition of Bethesda, “demonstrates a strategy to exclude competing gaming platforms, which would harm consumers.” Another third believes that Microsoft already has a foothold in the multi-game subscription space (with Xbox Game Pass) and that the merger would only “cement that position”.
Additionally, two of the six expressed concerns about adding Activision to Microsoft’s already dominant portfolio, which includes the Windows operating system, Azure cloud platform, console strength and Xbox Game. pass.
In early February, Microsoft provided a statement to PSLS that it doesn’t believe Activision Blizzard will be “locked down” in the UK and that it has a “strong” case for the acquisition. Call of Duty could be removed from the merger if Microsoft accepts a suggestion made by the CMA.