Microsoft insists that its takeover of Activision will not harm competition
Microsoft defended today in Brussels its proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard for an amount of nearly 69 billion dollars. It is complicated for the moment, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Microsoft defends its desire to buy Activision
Recently, the UK regulator issued its interim findings and said the deal could significantly harm competition and consumer choice.
Microsoft chairman Brad Smith said in Brussels that he hoped regulators, including the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, see the deal as an “opportunity to bring this game to 150 million people.” additional costs, which will benefit consumers”.
He rejected any demands for Microsoft to sell hit games like Call Of Duty in exchange, saying it would be “neither feasible nor realistic”. The president, however, said he was “more optimistic about the chances of closing this deal tonight than 24 hours ago, not because of what happened in the courtroom, but because of two chords.
The first agreement was announced during the day, it concerns Nintendo. Microsoft is committed to bringing Call of Duty to Nintendo consoles for 10 years. The second agreement was announced this evening with Nvidia to offer Xbox PC games on the GeForce Now cloud gaming service.
Sony, on the other hand, strongly opposes the deal, but Brad Smith said Microsoft is willing to agree on a solution to ease Sony’s concerns. “I am ready to sign,” he said, ensuring he was ready to sit down with Sony to dialogue in order to find an agreement.
Brad Smith came to Brussels with several Microsoft officials for a closed-door hearing where he sought to convince EU antitrust regulators to approve the deal with Activision. The European Commission stressed that the investigation was still ongoing and said it would not comment on the hearing. She must make a decision for March 23, the end of a period of 90 days for her in-depth investigation.
