Competition: Brussels opens an investigation into the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft

Europe 1 with AFP 10:00 p.m., November 08, 2022

Brussels announced Tuesday to open an in-depth investigation into the proposed takeover of the American video game publisher Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, judging that this operation at 69 billion dollars could "significantly reduce" competition in this market.

The European Commission explained that it feared in particular that Microsoft could “lock access to Activision Blizzard video games for consoles and PCs” including the famous “call of Duty” and that it would be tempted to put in place “strategies to 'crowding out competing distributors of video games for consoles'.

The EU executive, which oversees competition in the EU, believes such strategies could lead to "higher prices, lower quality and reduced innovation".

90 days to make a decision 

The Commission also fears a reduction in competition in the market for PC operating systems.

She believes users might be discouraged from buying PCs that don't run Windows, Microsoft's system made more attractive by access to Activision Blizzard games.

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The Commission announced that it would "carry out an in-depth investigation into the effects of the operation, in order to determine whether its initial fears are confirmed".

It now has a period of 90 days, until March 23, 2023 to make a decision.

The opening of an in-depth investigation does not prejudge the outcome of the procedure.

In a video game sector in full consolidation, Microsoft, itself a distributor of games on its Xbox console, announced in January the acquisition of Activision Blizzard which would propel it to third place worldwide in this industry, behind the Chinese Tencent and the Japanese Sony, maker of the PlayStation.