Microsoft in Brussels: Sound and fury, signifying nothing | Opinion

gamesindustry.biz:

Whatever you think about Microsoft's arguments for letting its acquisition of Activision Blizzard advance, you can't fault its stage management. This week was crucial to the case it is making to the European Commission, which is one of the major remaining regulatory hurdles to the deal proceeding, and Microsoft orchestrated an impressive PR blitz for the occasion, most of it designed to underline a commitment to multi-platform releases.

Ten-year commitments to launch Call of Duty titles on Valve's Steam and on Nintendo platforms were re-emphasised, and Microsoft president Brad Smith waved around an envelope containing, he claimed, a deal ready for Sony's signature, which would presumably grant them the same thing.

There was a highly unusual intervention from the Communication Workers of America union – it seemed to imply a hostage situation, with Activision Blizzard being such a hellishly awful place for workers that regulators should let the deal proceed just because Microsoft is a better employer, leading one to wonder if anyone at Activision Blizzard signed off on this particular part of the strategy.

Perhaps the most impactful aspect of the whole circus that swept through Brussels, though, was that Microsoft entered the week with three major industry peers opposing the deal, but left with only two. Sony and Google are still against the deal going through, but a carefully timed announcement of a deal between Microsoft and Nvidia has cleared up opposition from the giant chip-maker. This is likely to be the most impactful of all the week's shenanigans for a couple of reasons.

First, it's a volte-face for a high-profile opponent, suggesting to regulators that Microsoft's own negotiations over concessions are providing