Microsoft’s $69 billion bid for Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard doesn’t seem to be getting easier. According to sources with Reuters, the company is now expecting to receive an EU antitrust warning over the deal, which was announced by the Windows maker in January 2022 but continues to face scrutiny from regulators, as well as competitors that include Sony. The EU antitrust watchdog is expected to make a decision about the deal in a few months.
From a Reuters report:
The European Commission is readying a charge sheet known as a statement of objections setting out its concerns about the deal which will be sent to Microsoft in the coming weeks, the people said.
The EU antitrust watchdog, which has set an April 11 deadline for its decision on the deal, declined to comment.
Microsoft said: “We’re continuing to work with the European Commission to address any marketplace concerns. Our goal is to bring more games to more people, and this deal will further that goal.”
The deal has already received the green light without conditions in at least a handful of countries, according to Reuters’ report. They include Brazil, whose Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) concluded last October that the deal wouldn’t make business more difficult for Sony and Nintendo. Microsoft has offered to keep Call of Duty on both platforms for at least 10 years.
Discussion (1 reply)
Join Discussion →This is such a strange thing to me, unless its government theater, that way it makes sense. Otherwise, why? its not food, its not defense, its not communications, its not water, its not power or transportation, I mean wth, whats the point of all this hot air? Let ms do ms. If they end up near monopoly im games so be it, thats really between cuatomers and companies, unlike some other things.