EC reviews whether the deal between Microsoft and Activision will affect competition

Game developers have received a question from EU anti-monopoly regulators. The issue concerns blocking competitors' access to the best-selling games by Activision Blizzard. Would Microsoft be interested in doing this?

The possibility and readiness of Microsoft to purchase Activision for 69 billion dollars is under discussion. A preliminary decision should be made by the EU anti-monopoly authorities by November 8.

Activision has a large amount of user data. The American software giant has the potential to own them. Will this become a competitive advantage in the development, publication, and distribution of computer and console games? The EU competition representative asked about this.

It is expected that this purchase will be the largest in the industry. It can also be used to compete with industry leaders Tencent and Sony.

Regulatory authorities are highly interested in Big Tech's purchases. It is planned that first the European Commission will make a decision, and then a four-month investigation will begin.

The conditions for selling console and PC games through Microsoft Xbox and its Game Pass service may change. This may be a consequence of the deal and their negotiating positions. Game developers, publishers and distributors were asked about these changes.

After the deal, Microsoft may decide to make Activision's games available exclusively on Xbox, Games Pass and cloud-based game streaming services. Furthermore, regulators are interested in whether there will be enough alternative suppliers in the market.

Also interesting is the increasing strength of the Microsoft Windows operating system in comparison to competitors with such exclusivity positions. Moreover, there is a discussion about having an advantage in the video game industry.

Questions also involved the importance of the Call of Duty franchise to console game distributors, outside subscription services for multiple PC games and cloud-based game streaming service providers.

The questionnaire consisted of 100 questions, which also covered the area of interest in competitors Nvidia GeForce Now, Sony Playstation, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, etc. after the deal.