Bobby Kotick warns UK risks ‘becoming Death Valley’ if it blocks Microsoft deal
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has claimed that blocking Microsoft’s acquisition of the Call of Duty publisher would represent a major blow to the UK government’s ambition of becoming a technology superpower.
The UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is this week expected to issue its provisional findings on the $69 billion deal and notify the relevant parties of possible remedies to any antitrust concerns it may hold.
“If a deal like this can’t get through, they are not going to be Silicon Valley, they will be Death Valley,” Kotick told CNBC in a televised interview on Tuesday, the same day as UK prime minister Rishi Sunak announced the creation of a new standalone government department for science, innovation and technology.
Microsoft is said to have paid close attention to the CMA, as it’s seen to be less predictable than regulators in the EU and USA, and could potentially influence their decisions on its proposed deal.
In September, the CMA said its investigation into the merger had been expanded to a second inquiry phase due to several antitrust concerns.
Notably, the watchdog said it was worried about the impact the acquisition could have on PlayStation’s ability to compete given that the deal would see Microsoft gain ownership of the Call of Duty series, which Sony has called “irreplaceable”.
In a bid to address these concerns, Microsoft recently said it had offered Sony a 10-year, legally enforceable contract to make each new Call of Duty game available on PlayStation the same day it comes to Xbox.
The proposed acquisition has often been framed as the Xbox maker seeking to purchase Call of Duty, a viewpoint Xbox boss Phil Spencer has called “a construct that might get created by our console competitor”.
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