At this stage in the video game industry, it is widely acknowledged that the quintessential soap opera revolves around Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to acquire Activision Blizzard. Despite facing significant obstacles, Microsoft has remained determined to complete this acquisition.
One of the major hurdles that the company has had to contend with is the FTC lawsuit that was filed in December, which has caused a significant delay in the acquisition process and may even result in the operation being pushed back until 2024.
However, it is important to note that there have been key players that have opposed this acquisition from the very beginning. One notable opponent is Sony, the company behind the PlayStation franchise.
In every meeting with regulatory bodies, Sony has taken a strong stance against the acquisition, arguing that it would lead to the popular game series Call of Duty becoming exclusive to Xbox. Despite Microsoft’s reassurances that this will not be the case, Sony remains steadfast in its opposition.
As if Microsoft wasn’t already facing enough opposition from Sony and regulatory bodies, it now appears that two tech giants, Nvidia and Google, have joined the fray.
The companies recently announced the forthcoming shutdown of their Stadia platform and have now joined the case against the Activision Blizzard acquisition, raising various concerns about the state of the market and competition should the acquisition go through.
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According to reports from reputable news outlet Bloomberg, both Nvidia and Google have stated that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard would give Microsoft an unfair advantage not only in the video game industry, but also in the smartphone, cloud, and subscription service markets.
This carries much more weight than the concerns raised by Sony in recent months. It remains unclear at this time how the situation will ultimately play out, but it is clear that it will not be resolved in the short term.
Additionally, it has been announced that the UK regulatory body will extend its investigation into the acquisition for an additional eight weeks to ensure that everything is in order.
