Unanswered questions about Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal | Opinion

gamesindustry.biz:

Brendan Sinclair

Managing Editor

Wednesday 19th January 2022

Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard in a massive $68.7 billion deal that will impact a lot more than just those two companies. There are plenty of question marks around the deal and how it will play out over the coming months. Here are a few that we think are particularly pressing.

Virtually any deal of this size is likely to raise antitrust concerns, but as our own Chris Dring pointed out yesterday, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard is as much about bolstering areas where Microsoft is not terribly strong to start with, like mobile and PC.

Even in the console space, Xbox is a clear third place right now. Losing Activision Blizzard would hurt Nintendo minimally, and if Microsoft were to pull Call of Duty from PlayStation platforms (a scenario I don't think is entirely likely), the question is not whether Sony would still be able to compete. The question would be whether that alone would meaningfully close the gap between Sony and Microsoft.

If Microsoft were to pull Call of Duty from PlayStation platforms, the question is not whether Sony would still be able to compete. The question would be whether that would meaningfully close the gap between Sony and Microsoft

This deal doesn't appear to me to give Microsoft anything approaching a monopoly in any specific market no matter how narrowly I want to define it. Halo, Overwatch, Doom, and Call of Duty are a significant chunk of the console AAA shooter market, but in a genre with Fortnite, PUBG, Destiny, Far Cry, Battlefield, Borderlands, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six and so many more, I don't know if consumers are hurting for options there.

Microsoft even emphasized the continued competition it will face in announcing