This is only the first arbitration expected on the takeover of the Activision Blizzard studio by Microsoft, but that rendered on Wednesday February 8 by the British competition authority, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is already unfavorable to the Redmond firm. However, it leaves the American giant the opportunity to provide new guarantees to tip the balance in its favor, and conclude an operation announced in January 2022 which was to be by far the largest ever recorded in the sector (68.7 billion dollars or 63.4 billion euros).
In its interim report, the British regulator considers that this operation is likely to harm consumers in the kingdom, in particular in the emerging market of “cloud gaming” – which allows the user to go through any type of terminal to access their games.
With the opportunity to get your hands on licenses as popular as call of duty, World of Warcraft Or Candy Crush, a solid presence in consoles with its Xboxes (but far behind the PlayStations), a cloud offer (Azure) which its main competitors Sony and, to a lesser extent, Nintendo do not have, an unrivaled place in the PC market , where its Windows operating system is dominant (three quarters of the market), Microsoft would have the levers to crush the competition.
Market in full concentration
In its opinion, the CMA expresses concern that “even a moderate increase in strength [de Microsoft] could significantly reduce competition in this developing market to the detriment of current and future cloud gaming users.. Beyond that, she believes that “Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision could mean higher prices, less choice and less innovation for UK gamers.”
The same authority points to the case of the game series call of duty – including the last opus, Call of Duty. Modern Warfare II, exceeded $1 billion in revenue in just ten days when it launched in November 2022 – to illustrate its fears of taking a dominant position in the video game market. An argument that Microsoft had already tried to repel previously by offering to guarantee its availability on competing platforms for ten years. This will be part of the arguments that Microsoft will be able to present by 1er March.
For its part, the CMA would prefer more structural measures that would offer guarantees of independence from certain licenses or directly from Activision studios. “We are committed to providing effective and easily applicable solutions that address CMA concerns”responded Microsoft in a press release.
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