Microsoft Is Running Newspaper Ads For Its Activision Deal To Drum Up Public Support

Microsoft has taken an unusual step in its campaign to get their deal to acquire Activision Blizzard King approved. Now, the company is running full page ads to promote the deal to the public.

As reported by Tom Warren for The Verge, Microsoft is now running full page ads for the deal in the pages of The Guardian and The Financial Times.

The ad copy on one of these ads is as follows:

“CALL OF DUTY.

FOR 150 MILLION MORE PLAYERS

That’s just one of our commitments upon approval to unite Activision Blizzard and Xbox.

More games, for more players on more platforms.”

The ad also shares the url aka.ms/150. If you open this URL it will lead you to, what else, but the official ‘gaming for all’ website that Microsoft set up to also promote the deal.

Now, there is something else interesting about the print ad. In its background there are mockups of Call of Duty appearing on various platforms, next to a Xbox Series X|S controller. Microsoft made sure not to include an Xbox in the devices shown, which include a TV (possibly alluding to smart TVs), a tablet, a laptop, a phone, and the Razer Edge.

On the side, Microsoft was not able to add a Nintendo Switch on it, or offer some visualization that it would run on rival cloud services like Nvidia’s GeForce Now. In fact, I believe that Microsoft could have even gotten away with adding a PlayStation to that picture.

In any case, this ad is a reminder that many observers, and likely Microsoft themselves, consider the CMA to be the final boss among the remaining regulators that will approve or reject this deal.

This is not because the CMA’s decision carries considerable weight compared to their colleagues in the FTC and the EU. Rather, it is because Microsoft will have no recourse if the CMA’s final decision is to reject the deal. There are processes for Microsoft to get the EU to reconsider if they reject the deal. While the FTC’s lawsuit seems to be a threat, it comes from an FTC that is too liberal with serving such suits out, indicating more the current FTC leadership’s personal biases vs big mergers and acquisitions, rather than a credible defense of fair competition in US markets. Microsoft may be right to be confident that they would win this case, but if they don’t, they have appeals processes for that too.

This appeal to the UK public is really ultimately an argument to the CMA, but if Microsoft really is able to garner organic support, the CMA will have to bring it to consideration for their final decision.

All eyes are on the CMA, which will be releasing its final decision on this deal on April 26, 2023.