We still ran out of nougat and exotic breads from last Christmas, when Microsoft left us speechless with its announcement. He intends to acquire Activision Blizzard and KingAnd the An operation estimated to be worth about $70,000 million Of course, from the very first moment we were very clear that she was going to have to go through a particularly big round of microscopes, both by the industry itself and by the regulators. A group of red traffic lights that change the color of part of it already, cAs it happens with existing shareholdersbut another still does not allow passage.
One of the key steps in this process is that of complying with European regulators. Namely, that these are, on many occasions, “harder” than those in other jurisdictions. In other words, if Europe agrees to a process, it can in many cases be interpreted as a sign that the process will flourish. It’s not clear to me that’s the case in this regard, since For Microsoft and Activision Blizzard interests, Sony interests have been addedindicating the opposite direction, considering that this acquisition could negatively affect PlayStation.
In this sense, Microsoft stated, shortly after announcing the purchase, that Call of Duty will continue to come to PlayStation after it has been signed, at that time, between Sony and Activision Blizzard. in spite of that, Sony started making lobby practically immediately on the organizers, To force Microsoft to respond in the middle of summer. And of course, due to the extension Acknowledge the importance of Call of Duty for your consoleMicrosoft’s suggestions Considered insufficient by the Japanese technology company.
And at this point, according to AReutersAnd the European antitrust regulators are seeking to see if Microsoft will restrict or prevent games that Activision Blizzard and Call of Duty publish among themselves, from accessing competitors.. And how does he do that? Well, in consultation with companies in this sector. A query that addresses several points, such as Microsoft’s policies regarding the sale of games through Redmond’s digital stores, but of course also about what will happen if Microsoft decides to make the Activision Blizzard catalog exclusive to Xbox.
They don’t have much room for such a search, yes, Must make a preliminary decision by November 8 On whether they authorize the acquisition, although this will not be the last step on the old continent, as it is expected that after the organizers’ announcement, the European Commission will open an investigation, the estimated duration of which will be four months.
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