Microsoft has justified its $US68.7 billion ($56 billion) purchase of Call Of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard by telling regulators that the company does not produce “must-have” games. If that makes you wonder why they should get more than any other tech buyout in history for the privilege of owning a company that doesn’t have a single killer app in its stable, you can fall in line behind me, bosmang.
Microsoft bought Bethesda in 2020 and the companies made their joint presentation during this year’s Not-E3 in June.
Microsoft has been in the process of buying Activision Blizzard since the deal was announced in January this year, with its purchase pending approval from competition regulators in many countries. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority issued a statement saying they were investigating the deal in early July, with a tentative deadline for any further investigation set for early September.
“Specifically, with respect to Activision Blizzard video games, there is nothing unique about the video games developed and published by Activision Blizzard that is a ‘must-have’ for rival PC and console video game distributors that could result in a foreclosure concern.” read Microsoft’s response to the New Zealand Trade Commission, published in a June report. This means that Microsoft does not see its future ownership of Activision Blizzard franchises, such as Call Of Duty, causing problems that would prevent its rivals, which include Valve in the PC space, from competing against them.
Consider that Call Of Duty alone has raked in $27bn (£22bn) for Activision Blizzard since the series debuted in 2003, as revealed on an earnings call last year. At the time of that call, the company’s chief operating officer, Daniel Alegre, said Call Of Duty was “one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time.” It’s just not essential, I guess.
Microsoft clarified in its responses to the New Zealand Trade Commission that it will not withdraw support for Activision-Blizzard games from platforms other than its own Xbox and Microsoft Store. This has already been proven with the upcoming return of the Call Of Duty series to Steam with Modern Warfare on October 2nd. However, as Alice Bee pointed out earlier this year, there are many other reasons why corporate consolidation in the games industry is not necessarily a Good Thing.
Activision Blizzard is still dealing with legal issues and allegations alleging a discriminatory and harassing work environment. Actiblizz shareholders voted at their annual meeting in June to re-elect CEO Bobby Kotick to the board for another year, despite calls from employees for him to resign.