EU Commission: Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft harms competition

EU Commission: Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft harms competition

Brussels, 10.11.2022

The European Commission has confirmed that it has launched an in-depth „Phase 2“ investigation into Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Following the conclusion of the initial investigation, the EU executive body said there was sufficient evidence that the acquisition would significantly harm competition in the video games market.

The commission is concerned that Microsoft could deny competitors access to Activision Blizzard’s PC and console games, particularly AAA games such as „Call of Duty,“ the commission said.

The deal could affect competition in areas such as game subscription services, cloud game streaming services and PC operating systems, the commission said.

The EU authority has 90 working days to complete the second phase of the investigation, which means a deadline of March 23, 2023.

Microsoft first announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in January 2022. The acquisition would make Microsoft the third-largest games company by revenue, after China’s Tencent and Japan’s Sony.

The British antitrust authority also recently launched an in-depth investigation into the planned purchase.