Among the latest slate of rumors about what’s going on behind closed doors on the Microsoft deal for Activision is a claim that sounds simply too good to be true.
As covered by IDAS on Resetera, based on a paid report by Equity Reports UK, Microsoft is prepared to offer all Activision Blizzard King games for all platforms, for ten years.
If Microsoft actually goes through with this, it would be a far reaching arrangement, that would not only affect the video games industry, but the future of competition / antitrust regulation. But this commitment would also be an extreme technical task, that might not be reasonable to expect from Activision Blizzard King, even given how big the company currently is.
This is not to dismiss the rumor completely, as Microsoft may have a plan to sort this out. It certainly fits the definition of too good to be true.
The same report seems to be mostly positive on the possibility that the deal will go through.
For example, two lawyers are convinced the EU and CMA will both ultimately approve the deal. One believes the CMA is convinced the deal does not actually meet the definition of competition theory of harm. The other lawyer cites the EU’s approval of the Meta-Kustomer deal, after they accepted remedies that Meta offered.
The EU seems to be unconcerned about cloud gaming and is focused on distribution of games across different platforms, including game consoles and PC operating systems. Google tried to make the argument that this current deal will create a Windows centric environment for game development, but regulators have already dismissed this argument.
In regards to Call of Duty, one of these lawyers has pointed out competition and antitrust regulation in the music or movie industries did not single out a single artist or franchise, for example, Taylor Swift, or Spider-Man, for regulation. So, they aren’t likely to accept Sony’s argument that one video game has that much of an impact on the whole industry.
It should be noted a third lawyer is pointed on a different direction enitrely. They believe the EU has different concerns in regards to competition. In contrast to a prevailing sentiment in regards this case, they don’t think offer Call of Duty games to other platforms will change the EU regulators’ minds.
While we personally cannot vouch for the veracity of Equity Reports UK’s reporting, we will note that this report was prepared for investors making early decisions in relation to the outcome of this case.
