Microsoft has not offered up any remedy to EU antitrust regulators currently reviewing its proposed $69bn bid to acquire “Call of Duty” giant Activision Blizzard. The news comes ahead of an expected full-scale EU regulatory probe.
Microsoft is hoping the acquisition will help it to better compete with industry heavyweights like Sony and Tencent – but Sony has publicly spoken out against the proposed bid.
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The European Commission is due to finish its preliminary assessment of the deal by November 8, according to Reuters.
Its website, which the publication confirmed is up to date, shows that Microsoft has not provided any concessions.
The US software company said it is continuing to work with the Commission to address any valid marketplace concerns and the next steps to take.
Writing in a statement, Microsoft said: “Sony, as the industry leader, says it is worried about Call of Duty, but we’ve said we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation.”
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By GlobalDataMicrosoft acquiring Activision Blizzard has been interpreted as a way for the tech giant to square up against the likes of Meta, Fortnite and other companies eager to create their own metaverses.
The deal will help Microsoft reinforce its position within mobile gaming and esports, where it has struggled to make a mark in the past.
However, it must overcome regulatory hurdles – such as the expected probe – to successfully integrate Activision Blizzard into the Microsoft Gaming unit.
The news comes as GlobalData analysts expects that the lines between the worlds of gaming and video streaming will blur in the next eight years, exemplified by the recent news that Netflix plans to open its own video game studio.
[The] lines between music, podcasts, video and gaming companies will become increasingly blurred [by 2030],” Charlotte Newton, analyst at GlobalData, said in a new podcast from the research firm.She argued that this development will come as a result of the streaming market becoming increasingly saturated over the next eight years. The ongoing streaming war between the likes of Netflix, Disney and Apple are, in other words, just at the beginning of being fought.
GlobalData is the parent company of Verdict and its sister publications.
