The European Commission announced Tuesday that it has opened an in-depth investigation into the extent to which a deal in which Microsoft intends to buy game developer Activision Blizzard, the creator of the Call of Duty game, meets antitrust standards.
The European Commission said in a statement that the investigation was opened on the basis that “the proposed acquisition could reduce competition in the market for the distribution of video games for game consoles, personal computers and operating systems for personal computers”.
In January, tech giant Microsoft, which produces Xbox and its own games for PC and mobile devices, announced a $ 69 billion plan to acquire Activision Blizzard with the aim of creating the third-largest games company by revenue.
The European Commission said a thorough investigation will examine the implications of the acquisition “to verify the validity of its initial competition concerns”.
He expressed concern that the deal could lead Microsoft to incorporate popular Activision Blizzard games into its operating system, limiting consumers’ ability to use them outside of the US company’s operating system.
The European Commission has considered that “Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard could prevent access to video games produced by Activision Blizzard for game consoles and personal computers, especially popular games such as Call of Duty”.
The Commission found that Microsoft has the capacity and “potential economic incentive” to pursue this strategy.
He stressed that such a path “could reduce competition in the market in terms of video game distribution for gaming consoles and personal computers, which will lead to higher prices and a decline in quality and innovation among game console distributors. , which could also apply to consumers “.
On January 18, Microsoft announced plans to acquire American video game giant Activision Blizzard for approximately $ 69 billion.
Microsoft expects this acquisition to “accelerate” its growth in the field of games and the cloud.
(AFP)
