Microsoft Reacts To EU's 'In-Depth' Investigation Of Activision Blizzard Deal

The European Commission is the latest authority to launch a deeper investigation into Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with the region now looking at all aspects of the deal. The EU has set itself a March 2023 deadline to make a call on the merger, and Microsoft could then be asked to make concessions regarding the acquisition depending on how things go.

Even at the time of the EU's announcement though — months before the investigation wraps up — Microsoft has already responded to proceedings. The company is keen to stress that it wants to make games more accessible overall, not less. Here's what a Microsoft spokesperson told Engadget about the deal:

"We’re continuing to work with the European Commission on next steps and to address any valid marketplace concerns, [...] Sony, as the industry leader, says it is worried about Call of Duty, but we’ve said we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation. We want people to have more access to games, not less."

This broadly follows Xbox's response to other authorities who are also looking into the ActiBlizz deal. It's been well-documented that the UK CMA has concerns over the merger, and that whole back-and-forth has delivered some spicy comments from all sides, including Xbox.

In the meantime, we'll continue to focus on the gaming side of things; we just want this thing wrapped up so Microsoft can begin building out its Activision Blizzard portfolio on Xbox Game Pass!

Should the EU have any concerns over the deal? Or is it all being overblown? Let us know your thoughts.

[source engadget.com]