We recently informed you that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed that after the first phase of the investigation, it concluded that Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard could harm its competitors, especially Sony, for being its competitor more direct.
For this reason, the CMA set a deadline to clarify some crucial points and thus avoid a second deeper investigation. Shortly after that announcement, Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, and Bobby Kotick, current CEO of Activision Blizzard, responded to the CMA and defended the deal.
PHIL SPENCER: PURCHASE OF ACTIVISION BLIZZARD WILL BENEFIT THE INDUSTRY
Through a statement, Spencer assured that video games and gaming are for everyone, so his goal remains to offer the most significant number of options so people can enjoy this entertainment. For this reason, it is in favor of innovation and the growth of the industry.
He talked about how Microsoft has done a great job of making gaming more accessible to everyone, especially with its Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming offerings.
For the same reason, he argues that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard would benefit players even more since the studio's featured games would be available on those platforms. So this will boost gaming on PC, mobile, and other systems where cloud gaming has a presence.
In addition, with the statement made by CMA for franchises like Call of Duty, Spencer reiterated that those franchises would continue to come to PlayStation, that the games would be available in the Sony ecosystem on the same day of launch, and that they would have the same version that was released on Xbox, for this very reason there would be no harm towards the PlayStation company.
Finally, he pointed out that they will attend to all requests from regulatory bodies and that their negotiations will always be focused on players and developers.
“We will continue to engage with regulators in a spirit of transparency and openness as they review this acquisition. We respect and welcome difficult questions being asked. The gaming industry today is robust and dynamic. Industry leaders, including Tencent and Sony, continue to expand their deep and extensive libraries of games and other entertainment brands and franchises enjoyed by gamers worldwide. We believe that a thorough review will show that the combination of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will benefit the industry and gamers," Spencer said.
BOBBY KOTICK REAFFIRMS THAT THEY WILL COOPERATE IN ALL INVESTIGATIONS
On the other hand, Bobby Kotick also defended the agreement and pointed out that this purchase process is long and that they have recently received the approval of several countries to complete it. For this reason, he believes that the agreement will likely close in the expected period, that is, in Microsoft's fiscal year, ending in June 2023.
He spoke about the case in the United Kingdom and said they would continue collaborating with everything necessary to receive approval. Kotick noted that they are already in the second phase of the review in that region, where Activision Blizzard has the largest number of employees.
“Government regulators are taking appropriate and deliberate steps to understand better our industry and the growing competition from around the world. Beginning in September, I will be holding public meetings to inform everyone about our continued progress toward our future as part of one of the world's most admired companies."
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