Even after the UK market competition regulator (CMA) formally positioned against the acquisition of Activision Blizzard ($69 billion) by Microsoft for the head of the developers group Bobby KotickThe decision is “far from being the last word in this negotiation.”
“The facts are on our side”
The CEO of the software company commented on the situation to private media VGC: “The CMA, the UK regulator, has decided. He does not approve of our merger with Microsoft. This is not the news we want, but it is far from being the last word in this negotiation.”
In a resolution released Wednesday, the regulator decided that Microsoft’s proposed solution “does not effectively address concerns in the cloud gaming industry.” To address these regulatory guidelines, Microsoft signed distribution agreements with several cloud gaming services earlier this year, including: GeForce Now, Boosteroid, and Ubitus with a 10-year extension.
UK video game industry ‘will block investments’
By the time the Competition Court’s assessment was made public, Microsoft’s top executives had already put forward their willingness to appeal the agency’s decision, as Kotick made clear. “We and Microsoft can and will appeal this decision, and we have already started working on contacting Microsoft. Supreme Court your competition. We trust our cause because the facts are on our side: this negotiation is good for competition.”
Kotick emphasizes that the UK tech market needs to understand the benefits technology can bring. merger agreement with Microsoft. “At a time when machine learning and AI are evolving, we knew the UK market could benefit from Microsoft’s strength in both regions and our ability to make these technologies available immediately.” Activision Blizzard’s CEO goes even further and predicts that if the CMA assessment is maintained, the UK video game industry will “hurt investment, competition and job creation”.
“This merger is a complex process, and I know I’m not the only one frustrated by the obstacles and delays. We’re used to a corporate culture. Act fast to reach your goalsthat’s why it’s hard when we can’t complete something at our usual energetic pace,” he adds.
a new try
“I will do everything I can to defend ourselves and help regulators understand the competitive dynamics in our industry. What gives me confidence is that we are one of the strongest companies in our industry, whether on our own or with another company, we are ready for continued growth and works on our awesome IPs”.
After the appeal, Microsoft hopes to receive it for a whopping $68.7 billion. one of the largest publishers in the world video game market. But while the offer is very generous and is not against bringing the Activision catalog to Xbox environments, since its announcement in January 2022, many other operators and companies in the industry have used all possible springs to thwart the acquisition. Although this round has a clear winner, it’s not over yet: Sony.