Google is not okay with Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard
Microsoft is seemingly on a mission to buy as many game studios as it possibly can. So far, it has been successful, buying big-name studios like Bethesda, but the company’sintention to acquire Activision-Blizzardin an almost $69 billion takeover has caused concerns by regulators and a bunch of companies adjacent to the gaming sphere. Even companies like Google are concerned about the acquisition and about the possibility of Microsoft solidifying itself as a monopoly in the gaming space.
As per a report byBloomberg(viaEurogamer), both Google and Nvidia have reached out to US regulators like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to express their concerns about Microsoft’s proposed takeover. Both companies argued that the takeover would result in reduced competition in the gaming industry. Sony, the maker of PlayStation and Microsoft’s main competitor in the gaming console space, has also expressed opposition to the takeover in the past.
Nvidia is a big name in gaming, with both theGeForce Nowgame streaming service and its lineup of RTX GPUs. While Google isn’t a heavyweight in the gaming space, it did attempt to become that withStadia, but the company is shutting down thatservice in a few days.
While Microsoft has denied anti-competitiveness accusations in the past, it’s hard for its competition not to worry. The acquisition would give Microsoft control of franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo, and it would likely seek to make those franchises exclusive to Xbox like it did with franchises such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout when it bought Bethesda.
If it’s even allowed to go through before its June deadline, Microsoft will likely have to make some hard concessions to get there. Only time will tell how things will end up panning out, but right now, the view isn’t really clear.
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