2023 will always be remembered for gaming controversies and huge gaming mergers, with Microsoft’s contentious purchase of Activision Blizzard dominating the news over the last few months.
From anti-competitive claims to the judge’s son working for Microsoft, the FTC trial and other countries governing bodies getting involved as well has hampered the progress of what would be the biggest gaming merger ever. Between Microsoft and PlayStation, there doesn’t seem to be a developer or publisher that is too big to be targeted for acquisition, with both platforms looking to lock down the biggest talent and biggest gaming IPs for their respective camps.
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Microsoft and Activision Blizzard
Microsoft have come under fire in the last few months with their handling of the merger with Activision Blizzard, as have their rival company PlayStation for their recent mud-slinging at the FTC trial. Surprisingly though, through all the propaganda, bad-mouthing and questionable business practices, Microsoft were granted permission by the FTC to purchase Activision Blizzard, any all injunctions were lifted, finally allowing the acquisition to progress.
Of course this isn’t the only hurdle for the merger, but between the approval in the US and forty other countries, it is looking a lot more likely now. The extension itself isn’t necessarily a bad sign though, with Microsoft vice char and president Brad Smith saying the extension is “to provide ample time to work through the final regulatory issues”. This seems aimed towards the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), as they’re one of the biggest authorities still holding the merger up.
After the decision from the FTC, the CMA have changed their tune to a degree, according to LUlu Cheng Meservey, Activision Blizzard’s CCO, anyway. In a recent tweet, Meservey said:
“The recent decision in the US and approvals in 40 countries all validate that the deal is good for competition, players, and the future of gaming… Given global regulatory approvals and the companies’ confidence that CMA now recognizes there are remedies available to meet their concerns in the UK, the Activision Blizzard and Microsoft boards of directors have authorized the companies not to terminate the deal until after October 18.”
It certainly appears that the merger is nearly unstoppable now, regardless of attempts by brands, lawmakers and even gamers themselves to stop it.
Microsoft and the Extension
Microsoft are currently in talks with the CMA directly, attempting to find a solution and negotiate what the best step forward would be. Rumours have spread that the current line of thought would be for Microsoft to sell/give up some of its cloud gaming services to appease the CMA, but that would end up being a big ask.
Together with @Activision, we are announcing the extension of our merger agreement to 10/18 to provide ample time to work through the final regulatory issues. We will honor all commitments agreed upon with the EC and other regulators and continue to work with the CMA on the…
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) July 19, 2023
Microsoft were planning to have the deal closed with Activision as early as tomorrow, July 18th, but with the CMA and the complexity of the situation with the merger, it was deemed unlikely, verging on impossible. With this merger they’re attempting to navigate any countries laws that either company currently do business. No small task.
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Whilst the new extension gives the two companies until October 18th to finalise everything, it would be shocking if it takes that long, with the saga already have dragged on for months, both sides will want it done and over with, allowing them to repair the hits to profits and reputations the whole ordeal has caused.
What do you make of all this? Are you sick of the saga now? Do you think the merger represents an unfair advantage in the gaming industry? Let us know in the comments!
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