The planned purchase of Microsoft in $68 billion of Activision Blizzard does not go smoothly. It can be said that the acquisition process is so problematic that nothing in it goes smoothly except for the approval of the heads of Activision. The antitrust lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, comes less than two weeks after the Federal Trade Commission sought to block a merger between one of the world’s leading video game distributors and the maker of the Xbox console.
Similar to desires Federal Trade Commission In the United States, now too Gamers They petitioned a court to prohibit the companies from carrying out the deal. Their complaint cites concerns that the merger would give Microsoft unlimited power across multiple levels of the gaming industry “to shut out rivals, limit output, reduce consumer choice, raise prices and further stifle competition.” “Microsoft already controls one of the most popular and largest video game entertainment systems in the industry,” the lawsuit states. “The proposed acquisition will give Microsoft an unrivaled position in the gaming industry, leaving it with the largest number of must-have games and iconic franchises.”
According to the lawsuit, the planned merger will give Microsoft great power in almost all product markets in the industry, such as consoles, personal computers, cloud computing and mobile devices. The technology giant will apparently gain an advantage in the first-class “AAA” games market, subscription services and consoles themselves. The gaming divisions of both companies are already the result of major mergers in the past that reflect a “dramatic increase in consolidation” following a “long history of centralization” in the gaming markets that continues to threaten the competitive landscape of the sector. That’s what the lawsuit says.
The merger will also combine two of the largest companies in the industry that currently compete for video game production workers. This would reduce employee mobility and leverage at just the wrong time, with Activision being dogged by lawsuits over its toxic culture of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in recent years. A Microsoft representative defended the deal, saying in a statement that the company “will expand competition and create additional opportunities for gamers and game developers.” After the FTC sued, Microsoft President Brad Smith said: “We have full confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present it in court.”
Although the claim this time comes from gamers across the US. At least on social media they don’t exactly get paid for their attempts. A considerable number of gamers on the other side would like to see the Activision company bought by another. Maybe not everyone today wants Microsoft to be the one to make the move, there’s no doubt that Activision needs a serious shake-up. For the computer gamers, for example, the purchase is not as critical as it is for Sony users. Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision means that PC gamers will get most, if not all, of the games on release day on the Game Pass service, the Xbox Store, and even the Steam platform. This is a win for gamers who want the games on as many stores and as many platforms as possible.
There is also the fact that Blizzard will be under Microsoft and not Activision which means more creative freedom and more experimentation with new ideas (hopefully). Also, think about all the titles that Activision decided to give up after the astronomical success of the Call of Duty series. Whoever buys Activision will improve the current Activision without a shadow of a doubt. What will happen next after “all” this power is in the hands of Microsoft? Well, if you play on the computer, you won’t really feel a change. Atlant will stay and Steam will get more games from the company. Sony is the only big company making a fuss about the issue and that’s because they’re afraid of losing Call of Duty, which is quite understandable.