Microsoft has responded to the now formalized antitrust warning from the European Union, slapped to challenge its bid to acquire Activision Blizzard.
The EU’s intention to oppose Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion deal was first reported last month. Now it’s been finalized – and Microsoft said it was “confident” it could fix the issues raised.
As expected, the EU has intervened on a perceived risk in Microsoft owning Call of Duty, which it says could reduce competition in the video games industry, Politico reported today.
In response, Microsoft said it was committed to “finding a way forward.”
“We are listening carefully to the European Commission’s concerns and are confident that we can address them,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Politico.
Microsoft is expected to offer concessions to the EU – and other authorities that have expressed objections – to get the deal approved. Indeed, the EU’s warning was the next step down this path while the informal dialogue about what those concessions might be continues behind the scenes.
Microsoft is facing similar complaints from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and the US Federal Trade Commission.
The company has already offered PlayStation a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on the platform – something Sony claimed to be as excited about as “Blockbuster was about Netflix’s rise.”
Microsoft is still publicly working on a timeline to get the deal approved worldwide by this summer. So far, only regulators in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Serbia have approved it.
