Microsoft's new Activision Blizzard webpage outlines the 'benefits' of its $69bn takeover deal
Microsoft's new Activision Blizzard webpage outlines the 'benefits' of its $69bn takeover deal
Microsoft says that the Activision Blizzard acquisition will benefit players, game creators, and the gaming industry
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Activision Blizzard deal
👀 Microsoft has created a webpage that outlines the benefits of its Activision Blizzard acquisition
🙌 The company says the deal will benefit players, game creators, and the gaming industry
🤝 The webpage includes links to commitments from Microsoft, an overview of the gaming market, and an interview with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
⛔ Sony has strongly opposed the deal, claiming it could give Microsoft an unfair competitive advantage
Microsoft has launched a new webpage that highlights the benefits of its pending Activision Blizzard takeover, in a bid to please competition regulators.
The page explains that if Microsoft’s $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard is successful, it will benefit everyone — from players to creators, and the entire video games industry as a whole.
According to Microsoft, players will benefit from the deal as it will mean more games on more devices and will give players more choices in how they purchase their games. In terms of benefitting the industry, Microsoft argues it will encourage greater competition between Xbox and Sony, and Nintendo, which will still remain the biggest, in spite of Microsoft owning Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft has been arguing its case as to why its multi-billion dollar deal should go through but has faced stiff opposition from Sony, which really doesn’t want Microsoft to own Call of Duty and suggested the buyout would give Xbox an unfair competitive advantage.
Microsoft’s webpage was created in the hopes of dismissing those concerns, then, and stresses that this isn’t about taking content away from one particular platform but allowing people to play more games, on any device.
“Players and developers are at the center of Xbox. We want to enable people to play games anywhere, anytime and on any device,” a statement on the webpage reads. “And developers deserve more options to build, distribute and monetize their groundbreaking games. When we do this, we all win. That’s why we’re sharing more on the industry and how our acquisition of Activision-Blizzard fits into our gaming strategy.”
The webpage also includes comments from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, as well as other resources such as an overview of the gaming market, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s comments to Bloomberg where he suggested Sony is the one who is stifling competition.
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan reportedly flew to the EU headquarters in Brussels to voice his concerns to regulators, and the UK competition regulator announced it’s moving onto the second phase of its investigation surrounding the deal.
The EU has promised to give the deal the greenlight by November 8, or launch a more detailed investigation into the matter.
Let’s make it happen
Personally, I hope Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through for one simple reason: Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft has already vowed to put Activision Blizzard’s extensive portfolio of games onto its subscription service as it did with Bethesda’s titles, and that’s something I’d love to see.
Sony may be worried about protecting PlayStation gamers, but it’s never worried about stopping Xbox owners from playing exclusive content and DLC for Call of Duty, nor did it seem to care when it struck a similar deal with Bungie for Destiny and Destiny 2 — a company it now owns. It also didn’t care enough to eat the cost of the PS5 price increase or charge less than $70 for its first-party games.
At the end of the day, I’d much rather pay a monthly subscription fee to access hundreds of games than pay $70 to play Call of Duty each year. It’s as simple as that for me, and Microsoft’s deal will deliver on that promise.