Microsoft Claims Activision Blizzard's Games Are Not 'Must Have' Titles
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard may finally be coming to an end. Before the deal can be closed down, however, all the pertinent authorities need to sign off on it, and with an acquisition as big and complex as this one, there's no shortage of complexities for the software giant's lawyers to untangle.
In its latest effort to defend the Activision Blizzard acquisition against the naysayers, Microsoft has stated that the publisher of Call of Duty, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and other assorted intellectual properties does not, in fact, have any «must have» games in its library. This information comes from Microsoft's letter to the Commerce Commission of New Zealand, as a justification for the acquisition at large.
Xbox Just Had Its Best Sales Year Ever
From the very start, there's been no shortage of criticism and skepticism surrounding Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In fact, Blizzard shareholders sued Microsoft in an attempt to stop the deal from passing through, though that doesn't seem to have gone anywhere just yet. In regard to NZCC, the chief concern seems to be whether the acquisition constitutes a breach of the antitrust law, and the majority of Microsoft's argumentation is being built up to refute that notion.
On top of Activision Blizzard games not being must-have titles, Microsoft has also pointed out that it would continue offering the relevant titles on a multitude of platforms. Curiously, the document goes to some lengths to show that it doesn't take AAA-tier capital to produce a desirable, well-performing video game, either, with the prime example being low-budget mobile games that end up going viral. Generally, the document seems to be designed to tackle criticism such as the US
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