[Opinión] Microsoft’s Alleged Acquisition of Activision Blizzard Kind, the largest shopping operation in video game history With an estimated value of $69,000 million, it could have huge implications for the mainstream entertainment industry, and regulators halfway around the world have the opposite view. “damage to competition” what would that mean A note to the opinion. Between you and me, my fellow readers: this type of merger that concentrates so much power in the same hands never but they never benefit consumers. And this is true in this case, as well as in another of the big operations that was – fortunately – blocked: the purchase of ARM by NVIDIA.

Microsoft has been trying to calm the troubled waters since the operation was announced. And to overcome the competitor’s main fear that some Activision Blizzard games will become exclusive to Microsoft’s gaming platform. Although the list of games is extensive and very important, the biggest debate centers on call of Dutyone of the biggest franchises in history, selling tens of millions of copies of every title it publishes, generating billions of dollars in revenue and wielding enormous influence in the industry.

Microsoft echoed this, but not before calling Sony a “hypocrite” for its large number of exclusives will not use the purchase to “drive out” rivals from the big franchises. His argument is logical: the Xbox platform alone could not monetize the weed to pay Activision Blizard and will need the rest of the competing platforms to distribute the games and recoup the investment.

Of course, there are no guarantees that this strategy will continue to apply in the future as demonstrated by previous ZeniMax purchases. Shortly after the European Commission approved the transaction, Microsoft announced its decision to make several of the distributor’s newly acquired titles, including Starfield, Redfall, and Elder Scrolls VI, Microsoft exclusives. Who knows how he understands, who understands…

Activision Blizzard: Microsoft wants to “trick” Sony

Microsoft is trying to get regulators to approve the operation, and a big part of the strategy is to stave off demands from its biggest rivals. It took on its main executives, Xbox boss Phil Spencer and Microsoft president Brad Smith, who unilaterally extended Call of Duty’s licensing deal for three years to begin with, vowing to keep the franchise on Steam. and proposed a long-term (10-year) franchise deal to Nintendo and Sony.

If Nintendo responded in the affirmative, Sony has yet to respond to the proposal, which it initially deemed “inadequate.” Microsoft has explained that it cannot sign a deal that would last “forever” but that it is willing to reach “a long-term commitment that Sony and regulators agree to”they insist they have to work on competitors’ platforms to recoup investment.

Bloomberg published something we didn’t know yesterday that shows just how far Microsoft is willing to go. Sony’s proposal includes the right to sell the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation Plus. Something unthinkable, but it shows the need for the Redmond giant to come to an agreement with the competition that will clarify negotiations with market regulators.

We’ll see how the biggest shopping spree in video game history ends. You know our opinion. We would never allow this type of merger because apart from competitors ultimately harming consumers. Look at the case of ZeniMax or other catastrophic events like the purchase of WhatsApp and Instagram by Facebook, which turned the current Meta into a monster. And let’s not say there’s going to be NVIDIA’s takeover of ARM. There are dozens of examples of this type of concentration and – in our opinion – none positive.