Microsoft has announced that it has made commitments to the European Commission to persuade it to approve its plan to buy US video game publisher Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.
Microsoft, which sells Xbox devices, announced in January 2022 its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which develops popular video games, including Call of Duty and Candy Crush.
The project, which aims to create the third largest video game company in the world, faces problems related to competition laws.
The European Commission, which is charged with overseeing competition in the European Union, opened an investigation in November 2022, expressing fear that Microsoft might “block access to video games developed by Activision Blizzard” to users of consoles and computers, including the game “Cal or Duty” and postponed The deadline for making its decision is May 22, after it was previously set on April 25.
competition
During a recent hearing before the Commission, Microsoft tried to dispel fears of damage to competition from the project, which Sony Corporation, its biggest competitor, strongly opposes.
“We’ve delivered on our promise to make Call of Duty available to more players and devices by securing deals to make the game available on Nintendo’s console and cloud gaming services from Nvidia, Boosteroid and Obitus,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
He added, “We are now backing this pledge with binding obligations before the European Commission, which will help ensure that this deal benefits the players in the future.”
Microsoft chief Brad Smith visited Brussels last month for talks with European officials, after which he said he was “more optimistic” about getting the EU’s approval. However, Smith denied any intention to meet the demands that Microsoft sell successful games such as “Call of Duty”.
The massive merger is also causing concern in the United States and the United Kingdom. The US Competition Authority (FTC) launched legal action in December to block the deal, and in February, the British regulator concluded in preliminary findings that a merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard “could lead to higher prices, curtailing choice and innovation for UK players.”