The public has spoken (pic: Microsoft)
The UK regulator investigating Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has revealed that most members of the public are in favour of the deal.
Around three-quarters of the 2,600 people that wrote to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) were in favour of the Activision Blizzard acquisition, the regulator has revealed.
Although officials have been sceptical of Microsoft’s assurances, that the acquisition won’t help to create a monopoly for Xbox, they did invite the public to write in with their views, and it seems the majority had no issue with it.
However, 500 out of the 2,600 emails receives were either abusive or ‘blank, unintelligible, stated to be from non-UK consumers, or not in English.’
Given how some gamers can carry on online that actually seems to be a pretty good percentage, with the implication that 2,100 of the emails were relatively sensible and helpful.
Although officials in the UK, Europe, and US have been sceptical of the deal most publishers that have been asked, with the obvious exception of Sony, have also not voiced any major concerns with the deal.
Nevertheless, the US Federal Trade Commission is set to sue Microsoft to prevent the deal, while a separate lawsuit by members of the public in the US seeks to do the same.
Judging by the nature of the responses received by the CMA, most of the people that wrote in are Xbox fans but their comments do line up with the most common arguments in favour of the acquisition.
The full report can be read here but some of the points in favour of the acquisition, or merger as the CMA calls it, include:
Sony and Nintendo are stronger than Microsoft in console gaming, and the merger will help Microsoft to compete more closely against them.
The merger will not harm rival consoles because Microsoft has made public and private commitments to keep Activision content, including Call Of Duty, non-exclusive. The availability of Minecraft on rival consoles shows that Microsoft’s commercial strategy is not to make games exclusive.
The merger will push Sony to innovate, such as by improving its subscription service or creating more games to compete with Call Of Duty.
The merger will allow Microsoft to provide Activision with better guidance and leadership, and to encourage it to invest more in games other than Call Of Duty.
The arguments against the acquisition are also familiar and, in some cases, directly contradict those in favour of the deal:
Microsoft has the resources to create an offering that competes with PlayStation exclusives without acquiring Activision.
The merger would lead to consolidation and would set a harmful precedent in the gaming industry of acquiring large publishers rather than encouraging organic growth.
Microsoft will make Call Of Duty exclusive to Xbox, just as it did with Bethesda after it acquired ZeniMax Media.
Microsoft can capture the multi-game subscription market after the merger because it can afford to add games to Game Pass at a loss.
The merger will lead to an increase in Microsoft’s bargaining power in relation to game publishers.
The CMA’s final report on the issue will be released on March 1, 2023 but at that point the legal action in the US is still likely to be in full flow.
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The UK regulator investigating Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has revealed most members of the public are in favour of the deal.
