Stock Market News

EU wants to know if Microsoft will block rivals after Activision deal

2022.10.06 14:15



© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard logo in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators are asking games developers whether Microsoft (NASDAQ:) will be incentivised to block rivals’ access to “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:)’s best-selling games, according to an EU document seen by Reuters.

EU antitrust regulators are due to make a preliminary decision by Nov. 8 on whether to clear Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision.

The EU competition enforcer also asked if Activision’s trove of user data would give the U.S. software giant a competitive advantage in the development, publishing and distribution of computer and console games, the EU document shows.

The planned acquisition, the biggest in the gaming industry, will help Microsoft better compete with leaders Tencent and Sony (NYSE:).

After its decision next month the European Commission is expected to open a four-month long investigation, underscoring regulatory concerns about Big Tech acquisitions.

Games developers, publishers and distributors were asked whether the deal would affect their bargaining power regarding the terms for selling console and PC games via Microsoft’s Xbox and its cloud game streaming service Game Pass.

Regulators also wanted to know if there would be sufficient alternative suppliers in the market following the deal and also in the event Microsoft decides to make Activision’s games exclusively available on its Xbox, its Games Pass and its cloud game streaming services.

They asked if such exclusivity clauses would reinforce Microsoft’s Windows operating system versus rivals, and whether the addition of Activision to its PC operating system, cloud computing services and game-related software tools gives it an advantage in the video gaming industry.

They asked how important the Call of Duty franchise is for distributors of console games, third-party multi-game subscription services on computers and providers of cloud game streaming services.

The questionnaire, with about 100 questions, asked which of the rivals such as Nvidia (NASDAQ:)’s GeForce Now, Sony’s Playstation, Google (NASDAQ:) Stadia, Amazon (NASDAQ:) Luna and Facebook (NASDAQ:) Gaming could be considered the most attractive following the deal.

Respondents have until Oct. 10 to reply.



Source link

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 98,575.41 0.45%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,472.72 0.84%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.999364 0.24%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.28 1.98%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 705.12 1.01%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 197.79 0.47%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.331079 2.54%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.05%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,468.48 0.42%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.911483 3.90%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.256562 0.75%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 40.52 1.01%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 24.62 1.13%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 5.96 3.07%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 4,128.55 0.22%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000023 2.36%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 4.49 3.69%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 98,161.30 0.27%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.314384 2.57%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.383089 3.39%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 7.47 1.89%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 3,470.94 0.81%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 463.37 2.76%
hyperliquid
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 26.82 10.89%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.53 0.75%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 13.90 5.20%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 108.73 1.55%
bitget-token
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 5.74 15.21%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000019 3.32%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,668.12 0.17%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 5.48 3.00%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.09%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 369.66 2.48%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.01 0.39%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 9.66 2.46%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 11.25 0.15%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.516395 2.70%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.158587 5.29%
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.051826 1.66%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 1.24 0.40%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 27.34 3.49%
render-token
Render (RENDER) $ 7.54 5.53%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 511.80 1.12%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 3.79 0.42%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 24.93 1.23%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 194.10 0.30%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.35 4.38%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.18%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.799717 4.03%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 5.30 3.29%