Advocacy groups ask FTC to "scrutinize" Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard

gamedeveloper.com:

A number of advocacy groups have called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard for potential anticompetitive effects.

In an open letter shared online, 15 organizations including labor union Communication Workers of America (CWA) and consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen implored the FTC to "closely scrutinize" the $68.7 billion deal.

The group believes the deal raises serious competition issues for the video game sector, and claims the FTC should be concerned about the acquisition whether it's viewed as a vertical or horizontal merger.

For context, a vertical merger is a deal between companies operating at different stages of production within the same market, while a horizontal merger would see one company acquire another that produces and sells the same products.

"We believe that the transaction may lead to an undue concentration of market power when viewed as a vertical or horizontal merger, threaten data privacy and security, undermine consumer protection online, impinge on the consumer right to repair and exacerbate worker disempowerment and wage suppression," wrote the group.

The group said there has been an "alarming pattern of concentration" in the games industry over the past several years, and suggests that allowing Microsoft to continue purchasing major studios and publishers with impunity could hurt consumers, place workers in jeopardy, and leave customer data at risk.

"Microsoft’s expanding role in the gaming market may result in the company using its leverage to raise subscription prices and limit options, among other possible consumer harms," continues the letter.

"This merger could [also] strengthen Microsoft's power to impinge