EU likely to hand next setback to Microsoft in Activision deal
Things just don’t seem to go Microsoft’s way: According to a report from Reuters, the European Commission is preparing to issue a statement of objections listing all of its concerns regarding the planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft.
The Xbox maker will receive this charge sheet in the coming weeks and may then address the points raised within it to avoid an antitrust warning by the European Union. EU authorities have set a deadline for April 11, 2023, to come to a final decision.
Microsoft announced a $69 billion USD deal in January 2022 to acquire Activision Blizzard, though several important players in market regulation have not given the deal a green light so far. While authorities in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia are okay with the acquisition as is, both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the US and the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) of the UK have openly voiced their concerns.
Sony is seen as one of the main opponents of the deal, fearing that Microsoft would make Call of Duty an Xbox and PC exclusive game. The Xbox maker repeatedly tried to reach out to Sony with offers to alleviate these fears and recently announced a deal with Nintendo in which it commits to deliver Call of Duty games to the Japanese company’s consoles for ten years.
With EU authorities potentially throwing a wrench in Microsoft’s plans as well, closing the deal becomes ever more challenging.
At least things look good for Microsoft in games development with a showcase being planned for January 25, 2023, which will reveal release dates for highly-anticipated titles such as Redfall.
