As many gamers and observers had noted, some of the things the CMA claimed in their rejection of the Microsoft – Activison deal simply do not add up. But it’s a completely different thing when someone declares what is true and not true, and you decided you just don’t agree with that assertion.
Now, I want to remind you that all the way back at the end of last March, Activision already declared to the CMA that they did not want to put their games up on the cloud. None of their current games are on cloud gaming services, and they also explained why they did not believe in the cloud, and what business strategies they intended to pursue instead.
But, Activision also talked about certain internal documents they shared with the CMA, that the CMA seemed to take as proof that the company was interested in cloud gaming. Activision went out of their way to explain that their inquiries about cloud gaming did not indicate an intent to enter the cloud. In plain English, you can say that they were asking around.
But, therein lies the rub. The CMA has put these internal documents above Activision’s explanations and statements, and decided that it is proof that Activision would be entering cloud gaming. In fact, without real evidence, they come up with a timetable for Activision to enter said market in five years.
With this, the CMA just flat out rejects Activision’s statement. As you can imagine, it’s hard to argue with someone who just disagrees with what you have to say about your plans and intentions.
On page 255 of their final decision, this is what the CMA has to say:
“Overall, we consider that Activision’s stance on cloud gaming as emerging from these documents is positive. This is despite some documents pointing towards scepticism from [REDACTED] to partnerships with cloud gaming providers.
In particular, as we assess below, we have seen evidence of Activision, including Activision’s senior leadership and [REDACTED], actively discussing potential opportunities with cloud gaming providers in the last three years.”
On page 259, the CMA then claims that they know when Activision will put their games up on the cloud:
“On the basis of the evidence above, we consider that Activision would likely have made its games – including day and date releases – available for cloud gaming in the next five years.”
CMA also reveals that these documents they handpicked to prove their own claim, that counters what Activision is saying, come from the years before Activision entered the deal with Microsoft in 2022.
One would think it makes sense for Activision to have been studying the cloud gaming market, as a natural course of doing business in the industry, and then made their decision when they were approached by Microsoft for a deal.
You can rest assured that this will be brought up, alongside the CMA’s stated mistrust of Microsoft, in the upcoming Competitions Appeal Tribunal.
