Microsoft CEO Claims Acquisition For Activision Blizzard Won’t Be Considered A Monopoly Following Federal Regulatory Review

For the ongoing wait for Microsoft’s latest power move to acquire Activision Blizzard, the $70 billion purchase is still being processed with involvement of the United States federal government. Although the previous buyout for Zenimax Media/Bethesda was only a significant portion of this latest arrangement, the sheer scale of the latest proposal leaves concerns on behalf of the future of the industry. 

Previously, there has been statements from Xbox head Phil Spencer clarifying that Microsoft intends to release future Call of Duty entries on other hardware. In a later statement from Microsoft President Brad Smith, he ensured Call of Duty and other namely IPs will still be supported for competing hardware. He even ensures ambitions to full sail more releases for Nintendo Switch also.

In an interview with Financial Times, and transcribed by Video Game Chronicles, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explains that Microsoft’s stance following review by federal agencies and even the acquisition itself will still leave the Xbox firm in the same position it currently sits compared to other industry-leading companies.

At the end of the day, all the analysis here has to be done through a lens of what’s the category we’re talking about. And what about the market structure? Even post-this acquisition, we will be number three with sort of low teens [market] share, where even the highest player is also [in the] teens [for market] share.

It shows how fragmented content creation platforms are. And so, that’s the fundamental category. Yes, we will be a big player in what is a highly fragmented place. Also, the analysis will have to extend to say ‘why are these content companies trying to become bigger?’ It’s because the place where the constraints really are is distribution.

“The only open distribution platform for any gaming content – guess what? – is Windows. The biggest store on Windows is Steam. It’s not ours. People can do any payment instrument, whereas all the other gaming distribution platforms are closed,” Nadella added. “To some degree, that’s why we are very hopeful that, by becoming stronger, even with low share, we can create more distribution for many small players, using things like xCloud.”

Recently, Xbox Gaming lead Phil Spencer expressed more determination on behalf of Xbox Game Pass for its most recent acquisitions. In an interview with Axios Gaming, Spencer was transparent on his ambitions to make the likes of Starfield and future Call of Duty titles to be welcomed by even more players. You can read the full report by heading here.

Do you believe Nadella’s comments on the acquisition for Activision Blizzard?

Source: Video Game Chronicles