Three Xbox Rivals Claim Microsoft's Purchase Would Harm Competition

General news News Xbox Xbox News 02/18/2023

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According to the UK’s competition and markets watchdog, the CMA, three companies have told the authority that if Microsoft were to own Activision Blizzard King, the chances of its rivals would be significantly reduced.

The regulator summarised its six meetings with representatives of the unnamed firms. They are either Xbox rivals or potential console or cloud video game services competitors. Three of the six believe that if the Redmond tech giant could take on the Bobby Kotick-led publisher, it would hurt competition. Two say the deal would not harm the games industry, while one says it is too early to judge.

One company says Call of Duty is an essential part of the console buying decision and that players of the franchise are sensitive to receiving inferior versions of games on other devices. Microsoft’s decision to make Bethesda’s games after obtaining ZeniMax Media Xbox-exclusive proves that Xbox boss Phil Spencer would do the same for Activision Blizzard’s games. Sony most likely made this statement. Several companies have said that subscription services offering more games (Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium) are becoming more popular. One of them sees Microsoft as already dominating in this area.

Most companies believe that cloud gaming is an emerging market and that its success will depend on factors such as latency (lag), bandwidth, and infrastructure. “Some of these third parties expressed confidence that these problems will be solved and that cloud gaming will become a meaningful market, while the others characterized cloud gaming as already technically viable and an existing market,” the CMA added. Five out of six companies said AAA games are a vital element in the success of cloud gaming. Some also added the importance of Activision’s Blizzard King content. One believes that without the publisher, a new cloud service would struggle. Two expressed concern about the pitch for Activision Blizzard and its IP to join Windows, Office, Azure, Xbox, and Game Pass.

Those are strong words.

Source: Gamesindustry

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