As the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) continues to evaluate Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, public sentiment seems to be on Microsoft’s side with around 75% of the public opinion. They support mergers.
CMA invite the public to share their thoughts about the Microsoft Activision Blizzard merger as part of a pending acquisition investigation. CMA disclosure that it received more than 2,100 emails during this period and that “about three-quarters are in favor of the Merger and about a quarter are against the Merger.”
Among the responses that CMA received and shared as part of its briefing, were such views as “Sony and Nintendo are stronger than Microsoft in the gaming console space and the merger will help Microsoft compete closely. closer to them; and “The merger is a response to Sony’s business model for PlayStation, which has historically involved securing exclusive content or early access to popular cross-platform game franchises , such as Final Fantasy and Silent Hill.”
Opposition to the merger included responses such as “Microsoft has dominated the PC operating system and this merger is an attempt to achieve a similar position in the gaming sector” and “here would be the largest merger in gaming history, paving the way for a potential chain of acquisitions of publishers in the future such as Take Two, EA, Ubisoft, thus increasing the concentration in the market.”
The UK opened its public inquiry in October after completing the first two phases of its investigation into the Microsoft-Activision merger. The CMA plans to continue to gather evidence and publish interim findings before the final report is still several months away.
Meanwhile, the deal continues to come under scrutiny as the US FTC announced it has plans sue to prevent the acquisitioncalled the deal harmful to competition in “subscription and high-performance gaming consoles”.
Matt TM Kim is IGN News Editor. You can approach him @lawoftd.
