This Thursday (01), the UK antitrust body brought its first opinion of the investigation into the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. The deal was announced in January by US$ 68.7 billion (~R$ 371 billion)the largest in the technology industry to date.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) brought its initial verdict showing concern about the deal, assessing that the deal between the American technology giant and Activision could reduce competition in the UK.
In an official statement, the Competition and Markets Authority expressed concern about Microsoft use control of franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft to harm rivalsmainly with gaming and cloud gaming services.
The authority stresses that if these concerns are not addressed, a second investigation is planned to decide what is best for UK businesses and players.
The CMA says Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have five days to clarify concerns and if information is not provided, the deal will remain under investigation. In the second phase, the body will assess whether the agreement will not violate UK competition law, which aims to maintain market competitiveness by monitoring conduct considered harmful by companies.
The competition law aims to maintain the competitiveness of the market, inspecting conduct considered harmful by the companies. In acquisitions and mergers, regulators can ban deals they deem a threat to market competition or suggest measures to bring more diversity to the business.
With the approval of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft would become the owner of franchises such as Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Tony Hawk, StarCraft and Candy Crush. In addition, the company’s titles would be released on Xbox Game Pass.
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
In addition, she would also own Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob and Treyarch.
Activision Blizzard also owns Major League Gaming, one of the world’s largest professional esports organizations with nearly 10,000 employees.