Despite the reservations expressed by the UK government, Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer has stated that the business is “confident” in its decision to acquire Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently gave an interview to Bloomberg (link opens in new tab), during which he emphasized his optimism towards the successful conclusion of the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. According to Nadella, “Of course, any purchase of this scale will be subject to examination, but we feel really confident that we’ll come out on top.”
As we reported at the beginning of this month, the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom has expressed its reservations about Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CMA) is “concerned that if Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard it could harm rivals, including recent and future entrants into gaming by refusing them access to Activision Blizzard games or providing access on much worse terms.” This is according to the CMA’s statement.
In the same interview, Nadella stated that Microsoft is probably the fourth or fifth competitor in the video game market, with Sony Group Corp. coming out on top at the number one position. Sony Group Corp. has also completed a number of acquisitions in recent years.
 “So if this is about competition, let us have competition,”
Nadella stated. Just recently, Sony asserted that the Microsoft Activision acquisition would have “huge negative ramifications for gamers,” and the company also stated that it “welcomes the announcement” of the CMA’s probe into the matter.
If you only now heard about the merger between Microsoft and Activision, let me fill you in on what you’ve been missing out on. Microsoft has completed the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for a price that is close to $70 billion, as was reported back in January 2022.
If the acquisition goes through as planned, this indicates that Microsoft and Xbox will become the owners of Activision, Blizzard, and all of the other firms that fall under that banner (such as King, Infinity Ward, Toys for Bob, and many more). There has been a heated debate between PlayStation and Xbox about Call of Duty, but the future implications of this news for Xbox’s ability to offer exclusive content are now unknown.
