Category: Microsoft|Nov 15, 2022 | Author: Admin

Now Microsoft's big scare begins

• microsoft
• windows
• Activision
• Blizzard
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The EU starts investigating Microsoft's offer for Activision/Blizzard.

This sounds like very bad news for Microsoft
The EU believes that the trade could reduce competition in the market for the "distribution of consoles and PCs, video games and PC-OS."

The Commission has already reported at an early stage that "the transaction could significantly reduce competition in the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games, including subscription services for multiple games and/or streaming services for cloud games, and for PC operating systems."

This is definitely not good news for Microsoft, who have stated that they believe the deal is going to go ahead, but a number of countries have examined the offer, which has a value of NOK 705 billion at today's exchange rate.

 

Video games attract billions of users worldwide and are among the fastest-growing forms of digital entertainment. For years, Microsoft has been a major player across the gaming supply chain. It is acquiring Activision Blizzard, a highly successful game content producer.

We must ensure that opportunities exist for future and existing distributors of PC and console video games, as well as for rival PC operating system vendors. The point is to ensure that the gaming ecosystem remains vibrant for the benefit of users in a sector that is evolving at a rapid pace. Our in-depth investigation will assess how the deal affects the gaming supply chain.

 

Microsoft may have known this was coming
The EU also argues, like Sony, that Microsoft can block access to Activision Blizzard's console and PC games such as Call of Duty and other "AAA games," as the EU writes in the press release.

 

Microsoft has just said they want Call of Duty on PlayStation as long as Sony's console exists.

 

The commission believes that Microsoft can benefit from squeezing out others so that they cannot distribute Activision/Blizzard games on consoles and that they get an advantage in the cloud.

 

The EU summarizes by saying that they believe this could lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less innovation and that this in turn will affect consumers.

 

What about Apple?
The EU also does another rather interesting thing here, and points out that PCs with Windows, which have almost a monopoly on gaming other than consoles (if you exclude mobile), get even worse with the trade and that this may mean that the users "do not act a non-Windows PC."

 

This is somewhat humorous as everyone knows that Macs are not gaming machines for the latest AAA games, which is largely Apple's choice, which in return has half of the mobile market and therefore has a big stake there.

 

The EU has given the Commission until 23 March 2023 to reach a decision on the matter.

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