UK Competition and Market Authority (CMA) recently announced Over the course of two weeks, we received a total of 2,100 public emails about Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, of which approximately 75% were positive.
The regulator provided a high-level view of the public reasoning behind the responses and made it clear that a small number of responses did not offer a clear view. We also ensure that no responses containing abusive language, blanks, incomprehensible, non-English responses, or responses from non-UK consumers are included in the survey results.
Here is an example of an answer in favor of a merger.
– In console games, Sony and Nintendo are stronger than Microsoft, and this merger will allow Microsoft to compete more closely.
– Microsoft has publicly and privately committed to non-exclusively retain Activision’s content, including Call of Duty, so this merger will not harm competing consoles. Minecraft’s availability on competing consoles shows that Microsoft’s commercial strategy isn’t to make the game exclusive.
– Due to the nature of multiplayer, Microsoft is unlikely to make Call of Duty proprietary. Dedicating Call of Duty to the Xbox only creates a gap in the market that will be filled by rival cross-platform shooters.
– Call of Duty competes with many other games such as Battlefield (Electronic Arts), Grand Theft Auto (Take Two) and FIFA (Electronic Arts).
On the other hand, those who oppose the merger are:
– Microsoft is already dominant in PC operating systems, and this merger is an attempt to achieve a similar position in gaming.
– Microsoft has the resources to create a product that competes with PlayStation exclusives without having to buy Activision.
– Mergers lead to consolidation, setting a detrimental precedent for the gaming industry to acquire large publishers rather than foster organic growth.
– This is the largest merger in gaming history and paves the way for possible future acquisitions of a range of publishers such as Take Two, EA and Ubisoft, increasing our focus on the market.
Of course, it’s important to note that this invitation was made before that Microsoft announces 10-year deal with Nintendo call of duty on that platform A planned acquisition must succeed. It is unclear whether this had any material impact on the CMA findings, but recent votes Let’s face it, our community seems largely lukewarm in general terms.
Are you for or against Microsoft’s planned merger with Activision Blizzard? If Call of Duty came to Nintendo’s platform, would you play it? Let us know!
