Microsoft’s plan to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $69 billion has hit a delay in the European Union.
The European Commission is the governing body that regulates competition in the EU. It has postponed its decision on the merger from April 25 to May 22. This happened after Microsoft submitted remedies to address concerns about the acquisition that were raised by the commission.
The tech giant has not revealed the details of the remedies it offered to the European Commission. However, it recently announced partnerships with new gaming platforms such as Nintendo and Nvidia to bring Activision’s popular game Call of Duty to more gamers. Microsoft made these deals to get the European Commission’s approval for the merger.
“We have stood behind our promise to bring Call of Duty to more gamers on more devices by entering into agreements to bring the game to the Nintendo console and cloud game streaming services offered by Nvidia, Boosteroid, and Ubitus,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters.
The company also assured gamers that the Activision Blizzard deal will be of benefit to them in the future. “We are now backing up that promise with binding commitments to the European Commission, which will ensure that this deal benefits gamers into the future,” the spokesperson added.
The European Commission will seek feedback from Activision’s rivals and customers before it rules on the merger. This will be done to make sure that Microsoft’s acquisition doesn’t lead to an unfair advantage in the gaming market.
Microsoft says EA supplies the most games to PlayStation
Microsoft’s troubles don’t stop there. It also faced opposition from the UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA).
The CMA published provisional findings that oppose Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard without remedies.
Microsoft responded to the CMA by presenting a chart that shows the distribution of game sales across several gaming platforms. The chart claims that Electronic Arts is PlayStation’s largest game supplier. It is followed by Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive. The company is highlighting this data to indicate that its acquisition of Activision Blizzard may not give it an unfair advantage in the gaming market.
