He Microsoft-Activision merger continues to produce outrageous defenses. This time, a self-proclaimed CEO of an independent game developer believes the deal must be approved by the UK’s CMA to prevent Tencent and Chinese publishers in general from gaining more influence in the gaming industry.
CEO says Chinese publishers have an ‘unfair advantage’
Labeled anonymously by the UK regulator as “Market Participant C”, the independent developer fears Tencent is “already an investor in Activision” in its response to the CMA’s interim findings on the merger. The CEO, who has worked with Sony, Microsoft and Activision, writes:
If Microsoft is prevented from acquiring Activision, would UK consumers be better served if they were acquired by Tencent?
The statement goes on to warn that Chinese publishers like Tencent have an “unfair advantage” because Western companies are closed to the Chinese market while having free access to Western markets. Therefore, he believes that the deal between Microsoft and Activision would benefit UK consumers to combat “this growing competition”.
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In fact, the CEO thinks it’s reckless to try to stop Microsoft and Activision from consolidating. Indeed, other publishers will continue to be pressured to merge “because consumers prefer to buy games directly from online platforms that give them access to a larger catalog.”
As reported in October 2022, Tencent has aggressively pursued acquisitions and controlling stakes in various game companies. It already owns several notable developers like Riot Games, Funcom, and Turtle Rock, and has invested in Ubisoft and FromSoftware.