The DeanBeat: Antitrust fears prompt a change in platform behavior

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In the antitrust lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple, we were constantly reminded of the fundamental weakness of Epic’s case and the flaw in antitrust laws. Antitrust law is supposed to protect consumers from monopolistic company behavior, like cornering a market and raising prices. But the law doesn’t protect competitors from the practices of monopolists.

Enforcing the antitrust laws in the age of technology and game companies is even harder because of Moore’s Law, which predicts that prices will constantly fall and components will become more powerful thanks to growing tech efficiencies over time. Even monopolists, for the most part, don’t raise prices in this environment.

This week, Microsoft president Brad Smith said on CNBC that the company is adapting to changing tides of regulation, rather than fighting against it. He happens to be trying to win approval for the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard — a deal that will give Microsoft more than 30 game studios to Sony’s 18. But he has a shot at winning, as Sony is bigger than Microsoft in games, and Nintendo provides strong competition too.

Consumers face risk of real harm, however, if companies that acquire game studios decide to make their games exclusive to one or two platforms that they control. When Microsoft bought Bethesda for $7.5 billion, it signaled that, after it finishes obligations to other platforms, that Bethesda’s games will be exclusive to Microsoft. That will help build up its 25 million-strong Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

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