Continuation of the endless series of redemption Activision-Blizzardepisode 342. The investigation surrounding this acquisition has now reached the most complicated stage for Microsoft, which must receive the approval of the regulators of the various world markets. It may have been all over with Brazil, but it’s a different story with European and British regulators. It is precisely the regulators from the United Kingdom who are taking the floor today, in order to justify their fears about this takeover.
A concern with subscription services
This is all reported to us today by GamesIndustry.biz. The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) detailed why the investigation surrounding the takeover had grown stronger, in a lengthy report.
The first cause concerns PlayStation and the other competitors of Microsoft (but therefore especially Sony) in the field of subscriptions and services. The CMA believes that with this acquisition, Microsoft could remove Activision-Blizzard games from other subscriptionswhether on PlayStation, at Nvidia or even at Amazon:
” The CMA is concerned that total control of this powerful catalog, especially in light of Microsoft’s already strong position in the areas of game consoles, operating systems and cloud infrastructure, could cause Microsoft to harm to consumers by impairing the ability to compete with Sony – Microsoft’s closest gaming rival, as well as that of other existing rivals and potential new entrants that might otherwise bring competition through innovative subscriptions and gaming services. cloud games […] After the merger, Microsoft would take control of this important catalog and could use it to harm the competitiveness of its rivals. »
Microsoft wears itself out repeating the same thing
Suffice to say that this answer did not please Microsoft at all, which must once again prove that this will in no way alter PlayStation’s position of strength on the market, since the PlayStation console fleet is much larger than that Xboxes.
We almost feel an annoyed tone at Microsoft, which has yet to explain that these fears should not be sufficient for the investigation to strengthen. In a response to GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft says that while all gamers call of duty moved to Xbox, PlayStation would still remain the leader.
The company also recalls that in the game of exclusives, PlayStation is king. Last year alone, Microsoft counted nearly 280 PlayStation exclusives, compared to 5 times less for the Xbox.
Microsoft thus allows itself to conclude:
” In short, Sony is not vulnerable to a hypothetical lockdown strategy, and the CMA’s decision is incorrectly based on self-serving statements by Sony that greatly exaggerate Call of Duty’s importance to it and neglect to consider Sony’s obvious ability to respond competitively. Although Sony is not in favor of increased competition, it has the ability to adapt and compete. Players will ultimately benefit from this increased competition and choice. »
The tone is set, and Microsoft obviously no longer wants to play Sony’s game any longer.
Sony’s definition of sass
But Sony has not yet said its last word, since in another document, we discover that Sony addressed the CMA to declare that even without exclusivity, the fact that Activision is bought by Microsoft would lead to a strong migration of players call of duty from PlayStation to Xbox.
We really want to answer that it’s the game, but Sony wants to do everything so that it still weighs in the balance:
” According to SIE, players can expect Call of Duty on Xbox to include additional content and improved interoperability with console hardware, in addition to the benefits of Xbox Game Pass membership.. SIE said these factors are likely to influence gamers’ choice of console. »
We will note the nerve of this answer when we know that this is precisely what Sony has done for years by offering content call of duty ahead of PlayStation consoles. In short, this confrontation should still last a while before we know the end of the story.