Microsoft in Showdown With EU to Save $69 Billion Deal
Microsoft Corp. headed into a showdown with European Union antitrust watchdogs by insisting its $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard Inc. will “bring more competition” for gamers but pledging to show willingness to address antitrust concerns.
“I think we'll make clear that our acquisition of Activision Blizzard will bring more games to more people on more devices and platforms than ever before,” Microsoft President Brad Smith told reporters ahead a closed-door hearing in Brussels.
“We're more than willing, given our strategy, to address the concerns that others have, whether it's by contracts, like we did with Nintendo this morning, or whether it's by regulatory undertakings, as we've consistently been open to addressing,” Smith said.
He was referring to the signing of a 10-year agreement with Nintendo that “will bring Call of Duty to Nintendo devices.” Microsoft last year already publicly offered to give other rival Sony Group Corp. a similar license for the blockbuster game.
Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard deal is the company's largest ever and one of the 30 biggest acquisitions of all time. Aside from Call of Duty, antitrust regulators are concerned about Microsoft's leading position in cloud gaming. The technology is still in its early days, but Microsoft is ahead of the pack with its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which offers a library of more than 300 titles for about $10 a month for gamers who want to download games to play on the Xbox or PC. A higher tier of the subscription, at $15 a month, includes cloud gaming, which enables subscribers to stream certain games onto any device, even tablets and phones.
By bringing Activision titles like Candy Crush and Call of Duty under its roof, Microsoft is
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