Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition will harm UK gamers, says watchdog

April 19, 2023
Gamers

Gamers

The UK’s competition watchdog has concluded that Microsoft’s $68.7 billion (£59.6 billion) acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the video game publisher behind successes such as Call of Duty, will result in higher pricing and less competition for UK players.

The Competition and Markets Authority, also known as the (CMA), which opened an in-depth inquiry into the largest purchase in tech history in September after flagging a number of concerns, said the merger would diminish the worldwide competitiveness between Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation systems.

What games does Activision Blizzard make?

Call of Duty, or ‘CoD,’ is the big one. The military first-person shooter is one of the most popular games on the planet, and each new edition always generates a lot of buzz.

However, both Activision & Blizzard have existed in the business for decades and have a plethora of beloved properties in addition to CoD. Following the acquisition of mobile game producer King in 2016, these include Warcraft, Overwatch, and even Candy Crush. Also checkout Metaverse Marketing.

Microsoft will pay $95 per share in cash for Activision’s collection of popular titles, expanding the software giant’srajkotupdates.news : microsoft gaming company to buy activision blizzard for rs 5 lakh crore own offerings for the Xbox platform and pushing it into the fast-growing sectors for mobile gaming on the metaverse. The transaction, which would elevate Microsoft to the world’s third largest gaming company, also aligns with Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella’s vision of focusing on content, community, and cloud services. 

COMPETITION CONCERNS

The FTC expressed worry that Activision’s popular titles, such as “World of Warcraft” and “Diablo,” would no longer be available on a variety of consoles, PCs, and mobile devices.While Microsoft has proposed concessions to satisfy competition concerns, the rapid pace of development in the technology and gaming industries may render those requirements obsolete in the long run.

To entice regulators, Microsoft presented a new set of app store principles shortly after the merger was revealed,rajkotupdates.news : microsoft gaming company to buy activision blizzard for rs 5 lakh crore including open access to developers who fulfil privacy and security criteria.

This month, Microsoft (7974.T) announced a 10-year agreement to bring “Call of Duty,” the popular first-person shooters series, on Nintendo (7974.T) platforms. Sony received the same offer from Microsoft.

Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard in $68.7 billion deal

Microsoft revealed plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in a $70 billion megadeal on Tuesday. It’s one of the most significant acquisitions in the IT industry in recent years, one that will strengthen Microsoft’s position in the expanding game business but may be clouded by recent complaints about Activision’s poisonous culture.

The all-cash purchase is valued at $68.7 billion,rajkotupdates.news : microsoft gaming company to buy activision blizzard for rs 5 lakh crore and Microsoft claims it will make it the third-largest gaming firm in terms of sales, after Tencent and Sony.

According to a news release announcing the transaction, Bobby Kotick, the contentious CEO of Activision Blizzard, would remain in his position. Employees at Activision have previously staged walkouts and demanded that Kotick resign for reportedly being aware of pervasive harassment and discrimination issues at the company.

Why is Microsoft trying to buy Activision Blizzard?

While Microsoft was originally recognised solely for home-computer software (Windows, Office, Outlook, Word, and so on), it now has its fingers in many pies, including gaming, owing to the Xbox gaming business.

That alone would be incentive enough to try to bring in one of the world’s largest publishers, with exclusive games frequently deciding console battles and Microsoft now fighting a losing struggle against Sony’s PlayStation

However, the addition of iconic franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Warcraft to Microsoft’s stable is especially noteworthy given the company’s heavy reliance on Game Pass — their ‘Netflix of games’ — where you can play a rotating selection of titles for an inexpensive monthly subscription.

Microsoft’s games, such as Gears of War, Forza, Halo, and Minecraft, are already available, and the business would want to bring Activision’s titles to the platform in order to increase subscriber numbers.

 

 

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Andi Perullo de Ledesma

I am Andi Perullo de Ledesma, a Chinese Medicine Doctor and Travel Photojournalist in Charlotte, NC. I am also wife to Lucas and mother to Joaquín. Follow us as we explore life and the world one beautiful adventure at a time.

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