The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation on Tuesday 8 November to assess the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft under the EU Merger Regulation.
These US companies are developers and publishers of games for PC, game consoles and mobile devices, as well as distributors of PC games. Microsoft also distributes console games and offers the Xbox game console and related services as well as a wide range of products and services (Windows and Azure).
The Commission is concerned that by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft could foreclose access to Activision Blizzard’s console and PC games, including highly successful games (so-called ‘AAA’ games) such as ‘Call of Duty’.
The preliminary investigation indicates that Microsoft may have the ability, as well as the economic incentive, to implement strategies to foreclose competing console game distributors, for example by preventing them from distributing Activision Blizzard’s console games on consoles or by degrading the terms of access to or use of those games.
Finally, at this stage of the investigation, the Commission is concerned that the proposed transaction could reduce competition on the market for PC operating systems.
The Commission has 90 working days, until 23 March 2023, to take a decision.
More info: https://aeur.eu/f/3yn (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)