The European Commission began seeking feedback from Microsoft and Activision Blizzard competitors on the assessed acquisition. US$ 68.7 billion (~R$ 371 billion). It was announced in January and is the biggest in the tech industry to date.
According to a leaked document obtained by Reuters, European antitrust regulators sent a questionnaire with around 100 questions to developers, publishers and distributors who would be impacted if the deal is approved.
Microsoft filled out the documents for the acquisition of Activision Blizzard last Friday (30th) and handed them over to the agency, which gave a response deadline of November 8th. From there, the deal will either be approved or enter a second phase of investigation, just like in the UK.
The questionnaire aims to analyze the impact of the decision of an eventual decision by Microsoft to make Activision Blizzard games exclusive to Xbox, expanding its dominance on consoles and PC by dominating franchises such as Call of Duty, Diablo and Overwatch.
It is also asked the importance of the Call of Duty franchise for console game publishers and cloud game streaming, something that has been worrying Sony.
As we extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone, we are incredibly excited to welcome the fantastic teams and iconic franchises of Activision Blizzard to Team Xbox https://t.co/DVrgYS8ssB
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 18, 2022
Last month, Activision Blizzard registered 361 million active users. And like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States, the European Commission wants to analyze whether this data would give Microsoft a competitive advantage.
Another point mentioned is whether the bargaining power of companies would impact when selling their games on Xbox consoles and Game Pass subscriptions.
Earlier, a source told Reuters the European Union review will be long and rigorous, with a second phase in November taking at least 4 months of investigation.
Yesterday, CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) approved the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft in Europe.
