EU approves Microsoft's $68.7bn Activision Blizzard bid

Microsoft's stalled Activision Blizzard buyout received some positive news today, as the EU offered its approval.

[Workshyskiver]

As rumoured earlier, the saga continues.

[-Foxtrot]

And now the UK will back down, which is my guess even though we should have a backbone and stand our ground since it defeats the point of an independent group like the CMA.

[Hofstaderman]

CMA not backing down. Publicly stated that they disagree with EU commission. Good luck to the appeal in the world's second largest market.

[Kerppamaister]

@Hoffer UK isn't the 2nd biggest.

[vallencer]

@hofstadetman

If you go by gaming revenue then UK is ranked in 5th market wise. If you go by population alone then the UK is 21st. You don't have to like the deal, completely fair, but don't just say random things.

I just googled these very easily to get my numbers. Both statistics are from last year.

[VenomUK]

Woah, I'm surprised to see the CMA rebuttal as it strongly explains exactly why it thinks the EU decision is wrong which is to do with Microsoft defining the cloud industry for a decade. The CMA said: "It would allow Microsoft to set the terms and conditions for this market for the next 10 years. They would replace a free, open and competitive market with one subject to ongoing regulation of the games Microsoft sells, the platforms to which it sells them, and the conditions of sale."

The EU will allow the deal with remedies which include allowing the ABK games to be accessible on any cloud platform where the user has a license. This means that if a person has bought the game for PlayStation they will be able to play it via the cloud, so if you have the digital license you can play it via PS Plus cloud. This will not stop Microsoft from bundling ABK games for free with Game Pass - therefore its cloud product will be a more attractive option to consumers.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

CMA didn’t have any ground to stand on and made all their initial concerns surrounding competition in cloud. When they couldn’t find evidence to support their claim, they simply made up a new one. They are trying to protect a super niche market (more than VR) where most players including Sony have said is a waste of resources and money.

Interesting Amazon Luna just launched in the UK.

[Sonic1881]

I'm more interested in the FTC. I wanna know how that will turn out.

[Dirty_Lemons]

To be fair we're fucking idiots for leaving the EU. We aren't the British Empire anymore, we offer nothing to the rest of the world now we sold up everything we used to own - railways, factories, steel works etc.

[dcbronco]

VenonUK the CMA argument was nonsense from the start. Allowing others to piggyback on Microsoft's work is a handout to Sony. One Microsoft can afford since business users already pay for the cloud infrastructure. But to continue to pretend Sony is somehow possibly injured when the CMA did nothing to limit Sony's payoffs to developers to stay away from Xbox while using their 70+% of the market as a bludgeon to push those agreements shows the CMA is a joke. How can you claim the cloud in its infancy is this huge advantage byt ignore those payoffs. It seems to me that the developers aren't the only one receiving payoffs. If they were fair the Sony payoffs should have been immediately halted if they were going to block Microsoft's acquisition. But it's clear fair isn't what they are into.

[solideagle]

EU doesn't like UK after Brexit anyway :D I knew there will be 2 different outcomes, it seems like CMA vs world right now...MS can use this in court to win that look everybody agrees except CMA. I am not expert in these things anyway :)

PS: time to grab popcorn and soda :P

[-Foxtrot]

Oh yeah they despise us especially after Brexit

[ED-E]

Really? I'm from a German region and I barely read or heard from any professional source that we have to dislike/hate UK after they left the EU. However there were tension before as some of the UK politicians were less committed to the idea of EU. UK had a lot of privileges within the EU, that had generated tension with other members. For what its worth, some Russian military strategist must have been happy, as these was one of the plans from the 90s to weaken the EU/Europe in the future. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

[MrDead]

It's about money and influence, this deal was always going to go through. CMA is independent and free from influence unlike EU, the entire point of the CMA is to make sure lobbied influence is kept out unfortunately the UK has a right wing psycho party in power so the CMA will be weakened if enough money passes to the Tory party.

"Which companies spend the most on EU lobbying?
Big Tech is edging out Big Energy at the top of the rankings of highest declared company EU lobby budget, with Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Huawei all featuring in the top ten. And while in 2015, there were four energy companies in the top 10, in 2022 it's only two, Shell and Exxon."

Unfortunately for the consumer It's more market consolidation, just like food, air travel, energy companies, telecoms, and even eggs in California, the fewer companies that own the majority of goods we purchase you will always see a drop in quality, value, wages, price rises and less choice.

[Abracadabra]

Honest question...
Are the UK better off after leaving the EU?

[outsider1624]

Could you get me some too. This keeps getting interesting lol.

[Old McGroin]

@ -Foxtrot

"Oh yeah they despise us especially after Brexit"

Not really though. That's just the narrative fed to the British public to enforce the us versus the world mentality that pushed through Brexit in the first place. Nobody actually despises the UK for Brexit, there's plenty of other reasons for that 😅

[-Foxtrot]

@Old McGroin

I'm not saying it's the main reason, the EU have always came off they've hated the UK long before Brexit but when it happened it didn't help.

[solideagle]

@Abracadabra

I personally think No. UK should have part of EU...

[dcbronco]

As Dirty_Lemons said the UK doesn't have much to offer. They're no longer an empire. They're a lapdog. That's why Sony could afford to buy them off. The CMA has absolutely no sense of justice or fairness. The only thing the CMA has the potential to do is to hurt the UK consumers. If everyone else approves Microsoft could walk away from the UK until they void all of Sony's exclusivity deals if things are meant to be fair until the console marketshare is even. Since that will probably never happen then Sony will no longer have UK exclusivity again. The CMA is a joke and they are do money hungry they are willing to display it to the whole world. I see another Prime Minister style early exit among their executives.

[dcbronco]

MrDead explain how Sony's extensive exclusivity deals while having over 70% of the market aren't the equivalent of market consolidation. Sony fans just want the advantage despite fairness. But the UK, like America is falling apart. And it's based on allowing true oligarchs to maintain their fortunes by suppressing competition. Besides a couple of weapons systems I can't think of one industry the UK is a leader in. Except riding the US's --nis. It's a recipe for failure because you're going to fail right along side of the US. Maybe you guys will wake up after a couple more PMs quit. But that will probably be too late. You've atrached your sail to a sinking ship. Brilliant!

[Christopher]

***MrDead explain how Sony's extensive exclusivity deals while having over 70% of the market aren't the equivalent of market consolidation.***

Sony doesn't have over 70% of the market. Glad we could help you with that.

In your attempt to discuss market consolidation, you yourself consolidated the discussion to just two players within the market and the comparison of their market reach. This ignores the other competition that Sony has, including Nintendo, PC, and Cloud/Streaming.

What's that? Sony made that comparison in one of their documents? Oh, great, but when talking about "the market" you have to actually include the entirety of the market.

You also have to understand that Microsoft is also using 2021 data, which is not the same as 2023 data.Here is the current market breakdown, approximately and based on available data.

Mobile >>> PC >> PlayStation ($24.41B) > Xbox ($15.56B) > Nintendo ($12.62B)

Microsoft gained 9% towards Sony in two years and all of them still collapse under the weight of Mobile and PC markets.

[Abracadabra]

No surprise. Most people suspected the EU would approve... but It's unlikely the UK will change their mind (too stubborn). Without the UK the deal will likely fall.

[MrDead]

I think most people knew is was going to happen because of anti-lobbying groups bringing to light how much MS is spending on lobbying the EU. You don't spend millions a year to not get your way, they can't lobby the CMA though as they are independent.

From Reuters

BRUSSELS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (AAPL.O) Google unit, Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) are the three biggest lobbying spenders in Europe in a battle against tough new laws aimed at curbing U.S. tech giants' powers, a study released on Tuesday showed.

Such efforts should be a wake-up call to EU policymakers to beef up the draft laws and lobbying rules, the study by campaign groups Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl warned.

The tech sector outspends even the pharma, fossil fuels, finance and chemicals sectors, which used to dominate lobbying, the report said.

The tech lobbying focuses on two key pieces of legislation. The Digital Markets' Act lists do's and don'ts for tech giants, and the Digital Services Act requires companies to do more to police content on their platforms.

The study warned about the industry's access to the European Commission, with lobbyists involved in three-quarters of the 270 meetings Commission officials had on the two draft laws.

It also cited the role played by trade and business associations, think tanks and even political parties in promoting the tech industry's narrative."

[neutralgamer1992]

Hopefully this means we can finally move forward

Will be very interesting to see what FTC does and if it’s finally approved how Sony will react. My guess is Sony will go after square enix and capcom

[specialguest]

The Sega continues

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Saga continues

[LOGICWINS]

A "certain group of individuals" celebrated too early. This isn't over...not by a long shot.

[Sonyslave3]

True and I think the CMA have a meeting with the PM explaining their decision why they block this deal over cloud harm a small 5 % of gaming.

The
@CMAgovUK
's chairman and CEO have to testify tomorrow before the Business and Trade Committee of the UK Parliament on "the work of the Competition and Markets Authority".

UK lawmakers will ask questions, hopefully also related to #Microsoft-#ActivisionBlizzard !
#UnblockABK

[Battlestar23]

Word has it the British PM is going to unblock the deal and strip the CMA of powers for their arrogance in regards to how they mistreated MS.

[S2Killinit]

MS will have paid the politicians in parliment good money to lobby for them I’m sure, but the CMA is an independence body. It should he interesting.

[Eonjay]

@Battlestar23

That's insane. The purpose of the CMA isn't to greenlight corporate ambition. Also the CMA is established as a independent organization. It's designed to protect UK citizens not US billionaires. You wouldn't strip the people of their own protections.

Not even you would do that because once you started to understand its purpose you would understand its importance.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Battlestar23,
Wow, that's enough to make anyone lose faith in the British government, that's sounds like some serious corruption to me and should most definitely be investigated if the PM does that.

[giovonni]

@eonjay that is not the CMA’s purpose. Their purpose is to “take action against business and individuals that take part in cartels or anti competitive behavior.” Corporate ambition is just that, ambition, now if it becomes anti competitive then you’re talking. The problem with the CMA is everything they are bringing to the table is a concern, but speculative, and the way the CMA likes to work is they rather be careful than to be wrong even when the evidence says other wise. In this case the evidence says other wise, and the biggest misconception is the EU is in the pocket of MS. Mind you the EU forced more concessions to make sure cloud gaming can grown and stay competitive. Why didn’t the CMA do that? I’m also curious what is the CMA protecting its people from ? This block is stopping cloud gaming from growing, which is stopping the growth of business in their region. And no it’s not a monopoly either

[Battlestar23]

Agreed MS has gotten a great victory today for us gamers.

[-Foxtrot]

Victory? Us gamers? 😂

[LOGICWINS]

This deal saves me $70 every year once COD ends up on Game Pass. Very excited! 😊

[S2Killinit]

Lol wow

[wesnytsfs]

Yep makes Gamepass better and adds more platforms for COD to be on.

[gold_drake]

i wouldnt call that a victory for gamers haha.

[Sonic1881]

Hilarious. I'll be over in 10 years 😄

[Ps5conehead]

It’s not a win for gamers. At all.

[Aloymetal]

The problem is, most ''gamers'' around the planet don't give one iota about MS's gaming division.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Wait, who? Are you sure you didn't accidentally substitute "Gamers" for "Microsoft"?

[Obscure_Observer]

"A "certain group of individuals" celebrated too early. This isn't over...not by a long shot."

Indeed. Too early!

[Hofstaderman]

READ the article. The CMA responded to the EU's decision and is doubling down on their decision. If its dead in the UK its dead my friend. The UK is the second largest market. But lets see the spin from your side.

[Sonic1881]

approval offers a glimmer of hope but probably doesn't change much for Microsoft's chances of success in legal challenges to the FTC and CMA. The FTC has a personal vendetta against Microsoft. I'm still trying to figure out what did Microsoft do to them 🤔

[Eonjay]

@Sonic1881

It's not just MSFT. The FTC has it out for all bug tech and it's a good thing they do. There is no competition in the OS market and that's a problem. AI is gonna be even more dangerous in the hands of a rich few. The FTC should be doing everything it can to stop the mega corps. We can go back and forward about fan loyalties but we gotta understand that the are just using us against our own interests.

Think of the future we and our kids have to live in.

[1Victor]

@Sonic: “The FTC has a personal vendetta against Microsoft. I'm still trying to figure out what did Microsoft do to them 🤔”

Windows explorer only on the OS no options for other browsers, making it hard to uninstall it, making it difficult to install another browser, crappy windows ME those are some I can think of the top of my head

[S2Killinit]

I dont think anyone celebrated early. Any victory against MS’s future vision for console gaming should be celebrated by all console gamers imo. But I do believe that money talks, and MS will get the deal done unfortunately, although I hope that they force MS to give as much concessions as possible.

I hope this deal back fires so badly that other shit corporations would think twice about pulling this sort of crap.

[The3faces]

Yeah like Sony used to do, just ask Sega and Nintendo

[generic-user-name]

Yes, Jan 2022 was indeed too early to bust out the Crash Bandicoot avatars.

[Christopher]

A 'certain group of individuals' are still insistent on what will happen and have made pretty baseless statements about the CMA after spending months saying it would go through the CMA and that the only issue was Sony meddling when in reality Sony wasn't their focus at all

[RedDevils]

"A "certain group of individuals" celebrated too early" hmm, wasn't that group that support M$?

[Ryuk_2007]

The ride never ends!

[AngainorG7X]

https://i.etsystatic.com/20...

[potatoseal]

LOL I don't know what I expected from that link but it wasn't that. Made me laugh. Thankyou

[AngainorG7X]

🤣

[Battlestar23]

MS now is on the way to owning Activision and there is no other group that can block this deal so i expect the CMA will have to cave in to MS and let the deal pass. I hope as soon as the contract is signed that MS will announce that all Activision games including COD will become exclusive and that all PS version of games will be canned.

I know there will be prior contract in place for COD with Sony but MS can just break the contract and pay a fine for it. They need to stop Sony's control on the gaming industry.

I hope that MS will start buying up more publishers and devs soon. Personally i would love if they bought Capcom, Square Enix and Take Two as that would mean MS will have 70-80 studios making exclusive games for Xbox.

[Workshyskiver]

Dude they will have bought enough Publishers if this merger goes through, enoughs enough.

[Battlestar23]

'Dude they will have bought enough Publishers if this merger goes through, enoughs enough. ' MS needs to own more so we gamers can get more free games on Gamepass. Gone is the they that i pay full price for games and i will never start again.

[DarkZane]

@Battlestar23

Xbox fanboys like you are parasites that are too cheap to pay for games and support developers. This deal is good for no one except the rabid xbox fanboys like yourself. You don't gain anything from it, but everyone else lose.

[outsider1624]

"MS needs to own more so we gamers can get more free games on Gamepass. Gone is the they that i pay full price for games and i will never start again."

God damn..oh well..just pray you don't get Redfall-"good enough for Gamepass" types of games then.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Battlestar23,
Thanks, you want it so that no one has the incentive to spend time/money to develop video games and instead gives us buggy, trash, mobile-tier games?

Yeah, nah, I'd rather give my money to Nintendo/Playstation.

[CoNn3rB]

"MS needs to own more so we gamers can get more free games on Gamepass"

First of all, they're not "free", you are paying a fee for Gamepass, this idea that people like you have that games are free on Gamepass is not only wrong, it's utterly stupid.

Secondly, lets say what you want comes to pass and Microsoft buys most of the gaming industry and places it on gamepass, what is to stop them from jacking up the price so they can start making a profit on the platform? Your $15 a month can easily go to $20, or $30 or as high as MS wants because at that point where else are you going to get your games when the industry is essentially owned by a single company?

Third, subscription services are a plague on the gaming landscape and will only make things worse. Sure, it's a good deal now because there is a library of old games to go to when you're bored but as we've already seen from gamepass over the last few years there is no incentive to make a good game or even a passable one. As long as the game has a storefront where you can spend your real money that game is good to go regardless of the actual quality of the game. People constantly state that they hate live service games but here is the MS crowd actively rushing into the catalyst that will turn live service into the absolute nightmare scape that most sane people want to avoid.

Fourth, MS has already proved that it doesn't matter how many studios they own they will still make crap. MS have offered gamepass players nothing but broken promises and mediocre to terrible games while Sony and Nintendo with less studios have produced hit after hit after hit. Owning studios doesn't suddenly change Microsofts visible incompetence that is clear for all to see except for the people who have this insane loyalty to a company that sees you as nothing but a number. Xbox states that they can't compete but that is a bold faced lie, the xbox 360 was more than a match for the PS3 and xbox produced some of if not THE most influential titles at that time. What they should really say is "we can't be bothered to compete" because that is the simple truth.

People like you are a plague because you either don't see or are simply ignoring the absolute shit show we are walking into and it's only a matter of time before the hobby that so many people love and cherish becomes plagued with mobile teir trash games and sycophants like you will lap it up while companies like Microsoft shit in your food and tell you it's chocolate.

[Elda]

Hopefully that never happens. You're in the wrong hobby if you don't like to pay for video games.

[King_Noctis]

What makes video game different from other media like movies and TV shows on streaming services?

[ChasterMies]

“They need to stop Sony's control on the gaming industry.”

Open your eyes to what is happening. Microsoft is taking their profits from their monopoly on OS and Office and using them to buy a monopoly on games. Monopolies aren’t good for anyone, especially Microsoft’s customers. Remember when cable monopolies charged as much as they wanted because they had no competition? That’s the future of Game Pass if these deals go through.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Show proof

[Christopher]

@343

Sony has set aside $18B for purchases over 3 years. They can't afford more than that. That's as a whole company, not PlayStation.

But you think Xbox, which is worth less than PlayStation, can afford it and buy it without the revenue from other departments?

On revenue alone it would take a minimum of 5 years for Xbox to take in the cost of the purchase. Not profit. Merely revenue, of which a small portion is profit.

[King_Noctis]

So now people claim that monopoly is bad and there should be competition in the market? I might be wrong but I read so many many many comments on this site before wishing for MS to go away and leave the console business.

Tsk tsk…

[pitythefool]

80 studios making Redfall quality GP fodder, lol you’re welcome to it, cheap skate.

[TheKingKratos]

The likes of you should not be anywhere near video games

[sinspirit]

"Sony's control on the gaming industry" is how capitalism works. Consumers voted with their wallets based off of Sony's repeated good quality games and consistency. As well as little to no major fails that hurt consumer trust unlike Microsoft who has repeatedly lied, overhyped, underdelivered, never delivers, drip feeds content, and can't manage a studio. Sony has no more control than anyone else that would be able to be successful if they just know what they're doing.

[TheTony316]

No thanks. I don't want my favourite franchises to turn into garbage like Redfall.

[Redgrave]

All this talk about exclusive xbox games, and they can't even get the ones announced out of the door in a functional state.

I'd really like to understand the psychology, it's remarkable how close minded Xbox diehards are. No extrapolation abilities, constant La-La Land mindsets, contradicting and hypocritical outputs.

I'm tired of this topic, and I'm more tired of the verbal feces being churned out in these discussions.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

I expect the increasingly isolationist and protectionist UK just misses out on ATVI GamePass games.

Sucks to be a consumer in the UK.

[Ps5conehead]

Well Sony has there studios. They will make there exclusives. And ps customers will buy those games. That puts profit back to the studios to make more great games. . Microsoft will not get the sells. So there will be more games like Redfall. Coming out. Broken. Eventually Microsoft will raise the game pass rates higher and higher. They will have to. Microsoft Windows division is going to want a return on investment of the money they put up to buy these studios. So remember that when game pass gets supper expensive . In the meantime save up your money for the price increase

[stonecold3]

Microsoft can’t buy capcom let alone square enix the Japanese government won’t allow them it .it never going to happen .

[Ninver]

You're a parasite just like MS. People like you will be the death of gaming as we know it. Congratulations you played yourself.

[sparky77]

The CMA appeal just got a little bit easier.

[S2Killinit]

I don't think you know how appeals work. Its possible that they will win on appeal, but not likely.

Probably MS will have to re-enter negotiations after it loses appeal and give further concessions to try again of possible.

[TriniOutsider]

No, it didn't, CMA has clearly made up its mind already.

[Wikkid666]

CMA will zero basis now. Part of the EU passing it was that all popular AB IPs must be made of available to all cloud based services worldwide.

[MrDead]

No, what will happen is MS will pay for the CMA to be neutered by the government or it will no longer allowed to be independent from influence.

CMA is doing it's job of protecting consumers.

[Hofstaderman]

CMA is an INDEPENDENT body not state controlled. Geez….

[MrDead]

@Hof

I know that and have even mentioned it, but the government have the power to overrule the CMA if they get the votes. Don't forget this is the Tory Party, the people that are destroying the NHS because of private healthcare lobbying and have destroyed our public services for a quick buck.

[bleedsoe9mm]

now they have a framework of concessions to negotiate with the CMA, if they won't play ball they setup special circumstances in the UK

[akurtz]

Xbox gamers are simply poverty. Under all the sugar coating on game pass is a perversion of the future of gaming.

[slate91]

Much needed win for MS and Phil. Nice work

[MrDead]

More like lobbying money well spent

From Reuters

BRUSSELS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (AAPL.O) Google unit, Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) are the three biggest lobbying spenders in Europe in a battle against tough new laws aimed at curbing U.S. tech giants' powers, a study released on Tuesday showed.

Such efforts should be a wake-up call to EU policymakers to beef up the draft laws and lobbying rules, the study by campaign groups Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl warned.

The tech sector outspends even the pharma, fossil fuels, finance and chemicals sectors, which used to dominate lobbying, the report said.

The tech lobbying focuses on two key pieces of legislation. The Digital Markets' Act lists do's and don'ts for tech giants, and the Digital Services Act requires companies to do more to police content on their platforms.

The study warned about the industry's access to the European Commission, with lobbyists involved in three-quarters of the 270 meetings Commission officials had on the two draft laws.

It also cited the role played by trade and business associations, think tanks and even political parties in promoting the tech industry's narrative."

MS spend millions every year to make sure whatever they want gets done.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

the deal got approved because MS accepted the remedies.
The CMA blocked the deal because MS would not accept any remedy apart from their own.
Simple.
It seems like MS was using the UK as testing grounds to see how far they could go without sacrificing anything.

[thesoftware730]

Explain your comment, please.

Ms made the same concessions; the CMA said it wasn't sufficient... 10-year deals for almost all cloud services and 10-year deals for all major consoles.

[Moegooner]

Microsoft has confirmed that the EU forced it to automatically offer Activision Blizzard games on competing cloud gaming services. Microsoft will offer this globally.

This concession may play a key part of Microsoft's CMA appeal. The EU got a concession out of Microsoft that will now apply in the UK, too. The CMA has additional licensing concerns Microsoft will need to address though

[SonyStyled]

Didn’t that come with catch that the games available on those stream services would be using that storefront rent free? Something about Microsoft being the sole receiver of micro transactions for those 10 year deals? Something about too much control in that growing cloud space?

I’m paraphrasing of course, but it wouldn’t be hard to search

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Those are not concessions. Those are lobbying attempts.

[Asplundh]

"Your problem is that you believe that the odds are in their favor in the EU. Lmao, that's not the case." - You

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

The odds were not in their favor. Did you miss the part where MS accepted remedies that they wouldn't accept in the UK?

[thesoftware730]

Interesting development for sure. Now they have the FTC to get a pass.

After that, the Appeals for the CMA will be interesting, will the CMA remain steadfast or will MS make history and get the block overturned?

[Hofstaderman]

CMA made their ruling already. An appeal if successful cannot repeal the ruling but recommend that they carry out another review from another angle. CMA can and will likely say no again. This whole process can take up to another 18 months. Congratulations half of this gaming generation for XBOX owners was literally this acquisition. Bunch of tools

[__SteakDeck__]

@Hofstaderman A lot of Xbox fanboys on n4g downvoting people to death, when people say things they don’t want to hear. Lol

[Hofstaderman]

@SteakDeck after the CMA ruling I felt sorry for them and didn’t rub it in after my initial reaction. But mark my words after this winds down and the CMA does not budge at I’m going to have a field day. In the interim I’ll be playing Final Fantasy and Spider-Man 2 while these dudes play copium, blind misguided hope and fanaticism.

[Asplundh]

"and didn't rub it in"

Sure you did.

"How’s UK looking?"

And now your feelings are hurt, because some are boasting over a result that was obvious to most.

[Hofstaderman]

@Asplundh I don’t have a horse in this race against MS per say. I abhor this acquisition as it sets an ungodly precedent.

On point you and many others are hanging on to this like a babies on their mothers teats because you have nothing else. No vision and discernible plan for your console and certainly no quality games. I know it hurts but the CMA block is still the death knell. MS knows this, Activision knows this but they will smile and sing the time so as to walk away from this with their three billion dollars unless ms offers them an increased price per share to hang around after the July deadline. This is not introspection or thumb sucking. Please look at Activision share price since the EU announcement. It has nary increased. Know why? Because any investor and financial firm worth their salt knows that the EU decision does nothing.

[Asplundh]

Hanging on to it? The news just broke barely 24 hours ago, I guess time flys when you're upset?

You can keep echoing that talking point, but this 'prediction' thing just doesn't seem to be for you.

[pitythefool]

Still find it funny the CMA went from the biggest obstacle to overcome to “ah well who cares it’s only the UK”

[Workshyskiver]

I think it was seen that way because its the hardest to overturn, rather than the weight it carries.

[pitythefool]

Or maybe because the deal requires approval from the CMA, the EU and the FTC.

[Hofstaderman]

@pitythefool you hit the nail on the head. The EU decision is pure copium.

[MadLad]

Said this was far from over and virtually everyone on this site were happy to tell me how wrong I was.

[wesnytsfs]

Nice, get this done so Activision Blizzard games are on Gamepass.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Lol people mad cause you prefer GamePass over $70 games lol

[wesnytsfs]

I think its more they are petty and d oont want XBOX to succeed.

[gold_drake]

i wonder whats gonna happen now, since the CMA already made a statement about not backing down.

would be interesting to know what the consequences are, or if there are any since it got approved by the EU too.

will they be forced to overturn their decision now? will the PM be getting involved?

[343_Guilty_Spark]

UK gamers don’t get Activision games on GamePass while ever other country does

[andy85]

I know it's likely COD will still be on PS but I think them losing it would be a good thing. They have so many dormant IPs that could be revives. Imagine a new Killzone with the production values of Sonys exclusives for instance

[wesnytsfs]

Sony has yet to show they can make a FPS to rival their 3rd person catalog.

[thesoftware730]

Did anyone notice on the Graphics chart in the article, the game picture they have above the MS/AB is of Super Mario Brothers lol.

MS will buy Nintendo next!!!!! lol

[stonecold3]

Ms will never own a big Japanese company like Nintendo sega capcom square none of those won’t sell to a console that non existent in Japan

[thesoftware730]

I was only joking, pal.

Making fun of that they used a pc of Mario brothers for an A/B infographics.

[gunnerforlife]

Won't happen, unlike us western countries, japan treasurers their big companies and are proud of them, their government and their people will never let a big company get bought out by a western company

[thesoftware730]

What in the blue hell, I was only kidding...u guys ain't reading?

I just though it was funny that they used Mario for something completely unrelated.

[computeSci]

I think this could backfire with the UK. UK is a small island compared to the EU, correct? CMA is on their own on this one, I think. I would assume the market in the UK is smaller than that of the EU? I also think the CMA can't dictate the worlds tech sector. Microsoft could easily pull out of the UK. Then Sony would become a monopoly their. Prices could increase? Or I'm just overthinking it? CMA asked for it. For the gamers, huh? But ya'll UK gamers might not get xbox and Activision games now.

[gold_drake]

given how the recent xbox games have been ... i dont think we'll mind as much.

[CBaoth]

what games? Secondly, what IPs has MS successfully managed? Halo and Gears are in the dirt, and Forza Horizons was a step down from 3 & 4. Fable's in development hell. I seriously doubt MS can manage Bethesda's IPs let alone another publisher. This reminds me of that hedge fund billionaire who bought Sears and thought he could turn it around. What happened? No experience in retail, he got Sears delisted from the stock exchange. Had to buy Kmart to re-enter NASDAQ. What happened? Ran both companies out of business. ALL these IPs will turn to shit under MS' guidance

[repsahj]

1 W - 1 L

[Asplundh]

8W - 1L
EU is the 8th country to give approval.

[repsahj]

we only need the big three.

[Hofstaderman]

It’s instant death. They need the CMA. You guys need to understand they need the approval of all three big regions.

[Asplundh]

"you guys will be saying the whole of Europe is closed for business lol."

Uh huh. Maybe you should just stop with the predictions? Just sit back and watch.

[aaronaton]

The outcome doesn't matter at this point as I can't see Xbox as a brand lasting much longer. Personally I hope it goes through, as I would like to see the end of Call of Duty as a franchise. I enjoyed COD 4 back in the day, but I've seen the damage this franchise as done to gaming over the years.

[gleepot]

you're out of your damn mind

[CBaoth]

enjoy your Xstick and mobile games! Stadia 2 inbound

[YodaCracker]

People have been saying the Xbox brand wouldn’t last much longer for 22 years now. Microsoft just invested $69 billion in Xbox and had their second best March quarter in history. The brand is not going away no matter how badly you want it to.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Beautiful!

[Sonyslave3]

Indeed, the EU said that even if Microsoft did pull Call of Duty from PlayStation, Sony would still be able to remain competitive. PlayStation would simply "leverage its size, extensive games catalogue and market position to fend off any attempt to weaken its competitive position", the European Commission decided.
On cloud streaming, the EU found the deal was unlikely to change much as the market is still "very limited today". Indeed, the EU said it believes the deal could actually "promote its growth"

EU just made CMA look dumb to block a deal on cloud when it such a small market and Ms it growing cloud gaming.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

The CMA is dumb and anybody thinking they actually have a valid opinion is probably well you know…

[DiRtY]

So approved by:

- EU
- Japan
- Serbia
- Chile
- Brazil
- Saudi Arabia
- Ukraine
- South Africa

blocked by:

- UK (but basically just for the cloud gaming part)

This drama will be with us for some time...

[Chevalier]

Isn't the FTC in the U.S. blocking this as well?

[343_Guilty_Spark]

They can’t come up with a good reason to block.

Maybe they’ll say the merger is too woke or something

[Asplundh]

Yes and no, they're seeking to block it and they are set to go to court in August.

[CrimsonWing69]

honestly, I don't have the mental strength to go on about this. Hope it goes through and we all can move on with life.

[meanmallard]

This is a bad ruling. They missed the key thing the CMA understood.

Microsoft has an agreement with all these streaming services where they get all the profit, and these streaming services are leasing their servers. So Microsoft is now in the position to lease these "so-called" streaming services Azure and take all the profits from the games they are leasing them.

The whole idea that Microsoft is growing the industry or diversifying is just a false narrative like everything else they say.

[Workshyskiver]

Yet every one of those cloud providers have asked for this to be approved.

[darkrider]

That are under Microsoft wing. Please, we aren't all morons or cheap ass gamers that don't buy games.

[thesoftware730]

You are missing key points as well; the mission of any sub or cloud service is to get users on their platform. Engagement is key, and you forget that access to all A/B games would come at no cost, FREE to all these services.

Ms won't be charging anything for the licenses to those services. Hence they receive the profit while the other, smaller services become more relevant due to having big games on their service; they get to advertise big-name games on their platform that otherwise wouldn't have as much draw; The more people that engage with them, the smaller sub-services becomes more competitive, effectively growing their cloud business.

Why do you think the other companies have all agreed to the deal?

[TriniOutsider]

The CMA still has this deal blocked. Don't know why Xbox fans are celebrating this as a win.

[computeSci]

The CMA speaks for the UK only.

[Eonjay]

This is true but the actual deal between MSFT and Activision requires approval in the UK. From a pure business perspective Microsoft isn't gonna pay $70 billion only to not be able to sell the content in its 2nd biggest market.

So the deal for now is still blocked.
If the EU had blocked they probably would have ended the deal. But now they will feel compelled to keep going.

They also won't close the deal for obvious reasons but the easiest to understand is that the US could still block the deal which would require divestiture.

Right now the deal has about 30% chance of going through.

[CrimsonWing69]

@Eonjay

Can't Microsoft just pull out of the UK and make the deal?

The CMA is only for the UK regulations. The rest of the world seems to be fine with this aquisition.

[Eonjay]

They could but they won't simply because of money. The UK is their single second biggest market outside of the US. It would also require MSFT and Activision to rewrite their deal which could be problematic in and of itself. Otherwise Activision still has a claim to $3 billion from Microsoft. The reason the deal dies is because that's what the two companies agreed to. People gloss over this.

The only practical path forward is to win on appeal.

[TriniOutsider]

Yeah, and they still hold the power to let the deal go through or not. Even after MS appeals.

[Hofstaderman]

Thank you. Once again this needs to pass in ALL 3 of the big territories.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

The sun has long set on the British empire. Nobody cares about the UK.

[StarkR3ality]

Seriously just want this to be over one way or another.

[KicksnSnares]

All I care about is playing COD on Game Pass on day one.

[Eonjay]

Would you be willing to accept a price increase to pay for the content and how much are you willing to pay? Is there a limit at all? If the price were to increase by $70 a year would that be okay as it would be equal to the yearly cOD release price?

[KicksnSnares]

Why do you care? You don't have Game Pass. Stick to your PlayStation

[Eonjay]

Answer the question. Don't be afraid.

[thesoftware730]

And if "if" was a spliff, we would all be high.

And besides, most can argue that the number of games on PS+ and GP that can be played right now is way greater than $150-$180 a year. If you play 5-6 games a year, you would be paying that anyway, and you get tons more. You can cancel at any time at no cost, so theoretically, you can play 4-5 games or more for your set amount of money, $40 or less for 3 months, play until your heart's content, and move on if you like.

For instance, let's say you are only interested in SF on Xbox, sub for a month or 2, play the game and you effectively paid less than $70. The only people that I see that this would affect negatively are collectors or people that just enjoy physical box copies, which lets face it, those numbers are dwindling.

[Eonjay]

@thesoftware

You bring up a very popular point...specifically about the actual value. The point I was making was that Microsoft has already stated that GP price was going up. How much more would you be willing to pay though? So if this ever went through Sony would this have to put COD on Plus and because they wouldn't be able to make money off of it the would trade in those physical platforming fees with an increase in the cost of Plus.

So if we were able to stop fighting and work together we would see that this will result in price increases for both of us. Plus is still cheaper per year that GP @120. This will take it to $150. I don't want to pay more and I'm sure neither do you.

Do you understand what I'm saying hear?

[thesoftware730]

Yes, indeed I see what you are saying, and indeed the prices for these services will increase. This is no different than anything else though, Games are now $70, they use to cost $50 back in the day, Xbox live and PS plus price have increased over the years, Netflix and every other sub-services have went up in price. Graphics cards, movie tickets, game systems..inflation and increase in service cause affects everything at some point, we cannot attribute any price hike on GP or PS+ to just A/B deal, it could pose a factor, but it's inevitable.

You also asked how much am I willing to pay, quite frankly...i don't know the answer to that, it will all come down to price Vs Content, if they were to add the A/B content day one and increase the price to say, $20 a month..i would still call it fair. The great thing about it is that they are optional and nothing stops any weary gamer from continuing to buy physical or digital download, GP and PS+ do not remove anything, they only add options.

Additionally, there is always some kind of discount to be had for these services, which mitigates a bit of the retail cost. I assure you, im not fighting with you..just debating and presenting a different Pov.

[darkrider]

Sad...

[Phoenix76]

All I care about is playing COD on Game Pass on day on

And that will probably be the last (half decent) version of COD that gets released. We've seen how MS have poorly handled the studios that they have already brought up. Whilst having acti games on GP in the short term looks good. This is a bad move for the gaming market in the long term.
3 to 4 yrs from now and COD will be a dead franchise under MS control, along with any other acti IP.

[KicksnSnares]

Cool story bro

[darkrider]

We already seen this is very bad for gaming. But Microsoft keeps try wreck more and more

[Ps5conehead]

You do realize that game pass is going to go up in price. Microsoft will want a return on their investment. So be careful what you wish for

[KicksnSnares]

Shut up and have fun playing your PS5

[MadLad]

And?
People have been arguing they might be undervaluing it for years. Netflix has basically doubled since I first subscribed. Games are now $70 pretty much across the board. Sony now has a tiered subscription system.

Microsoft keeps finding ways to add value to Gamepass. If it bumps up a bit, so be it.

[gleepot]

the UK is 4 countries, the EU is 27

[GoodGuy09]

Can this whole thing finally finish now? I'm waiting dor COD to be on GP lol.

[darkrider]

Buy games. Can't afford. Get another hobby. Microsoft is destroying studios because of gamepass fillers. We have enough of studios wrecked.

Why don't you go play redfall

[MadLad]

Then there's also legitimate classics like Wasteland 3 and Psychonauts 2 where both studios outwardly admitted that both titles would have been smaller in scope and probably less quality without their acquisition. Even smaller passion projects like Pentiment exist because of the acquisition.

I'm waiting to see what comes from Arkane. They have been one of my favorite devs, but Redfall is a wreck in a lot of ways. They lost their creative lead because he got tired of working with Bethesda and Zenimax and I think it's showing. Death loop was pretty solid, Redfall is a mess. Neither are nearly as good as something like Dishonored or Prey.

But it's a general consensus that, as a whole, the gaming community realizes that Gamepass is a good value and that there are many great games there. People can call it filler all they want, but they're always adding quality titles.

[Binarycode]

Anyone who thinks this is good for gaming. Isn't a gamer.

[The3faces]

Except when Sony does it.

[Ninver]

Sony makes quality AAA award winning games. Yes they do that very well. They propel the industry.

Those scumbags at MS can't compete so they buy the competition. I'll never buy an xbox if this deal goes through.

[Binarycode]

When has Sony bought the Parent Company.

Sony has bought small 3rd party studios who already made exclusives for it's systems.

They also make AAA games.

Microsoft needs to try making Some AAA games.

[kindi_boy]

Ok,,,

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

I enjoy reading the comments from all the arm chair lawyers in here more than I enjoy the fighting between MS/Sony/CMA. Keep it up guys it helps me get through my work day lol

[shadowT]

Call of Duty for Nintendo Switch!

[blackbeld]

So we will get COD on other cloud platforms too. That means also on PSN? Does that mean COD also on my playstation? That’s sounds good.

[RiseNShine]

Knowing that Qatar bribed several EU politicians to support the World Cup and they were caught red handed, I wonder how much was paid for this deal, those poor guys need another Bugatti.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Now they need the UK . So if deal goes thru it will probably happen in 2024 ??

[babadivad]

Spicy

[AmUnRa]

The EU finds in unlikely that MS would pull COD and other Activision games from the Playstation cous they "promised" that.MS would see profit suffers, an argument MS repeatetly stated....MS is time to put the "promise in to action, bring COD to PS....

[Tedakin]

This is inevitable. Diablo 4 and COD coming to Gamepass.

[OG_TK_Cole]

The UK is definitely about to back down. Yall heard what the new Prime Minister said. He is even willing to remove the heads of the CMA from their posts.

[DarkZane]

He can't, the CMA is an independant organization. The Prime minister has absolutely no power over them. He can't do anything. If he does, it will only show the government is corrupted and he is pretty much done.

[OG_TK_Cole]

@DarkZane
You must not be paying attention to what is going on. He is not done if he does it. And its obvious by your comment you dont understand what Microsoft and other Companies are doing to force his hand. Listen I have no Horse in this race, im not into the Console Wars. But if you are reading the news papers in the UK, and the News you would know the CMA is being grilled by their Government right now. Also did you know that Microsoft is UK Governments biggest Tech partner right now??? The CEO of Microsoft has threatened to pull out of that deal as well. Politics is Politics no matter the country young fella.

[Viljong]

Xbox wins

[Ninver]

Apparently not in quality games. You know, what we are here for.

[mastershredder]

Well duh EU is consumer-grade and all about capital-commerce, just gotta bid high like a bond super-villain.

[Aussieguy]

If its approved, then what else is needed now before the deal is finalised and Xbox series X owners will start to benefit? Like when can Activision games come to Gamepass?

[Eonjay]

So to answer your question everything hangs on the CMA and the FTC. We are going to be here for at least another year. Maybe longer.

[Aussieguy]

By the way this is going, it sounds like even if it goes through, we won't see any games from them on this Xbox. Maybe the next xbox will be fit from this purchase 😭

[InUrFoxHole]

Joker: And... Here... We... Go!

[rlow1]

Interesting, in one sense I’m happy because of access to games on a budget.
At the same time I can understand the CMA’s view on it. Even though it’s a niche market. It does put MS in the pole position on streaming.

The flip side, to ever make streaming viable and out to the masses. It Will take extensive investment from a company with deep pockets. Plus there are plenty of big fish out there with deep pockets so if it becomes the next revolution, there will be plenty of companies jumping in.

[TheColbertinator]

Makes sense to me

[__SteakDeck__]

Not surprised that a globalist, political organization like the EU passed this. I will say this, this does benefit MS because it gives them headroom. This whole thing has been like a Boxing match. One side wins one round, then the other side wins another. I think I speak for most people when I say, I want this fight to be over.

[anast]

This is getting good. I wonder how the CMA will respond.

[Reaper22_]

Like I said before, this deal is gonna happen. It's just going to take longer than they first expected. A much need win for Microsoft and gamers.

[Ps5conehead]

No it’s not a win win for gamers on any platform. Microsoft will control most of the market. And they will raise the cost of game pass. The company is going to want a return on their investment . These 10 year deals are a joke. Microsoft is not your friend no company is. They’re there to make money not be your buddy. You wait and see if it goes through you Xbox fanboys will be crying.

[Reaper22_]

They're all there to make money. Not just Microsoft. Prices are still going up regardless.

[darkrider]

They are so desperate for something. That they think this is a victory. An incompentent company in videogaming, that still is in videogaming because Microsoft keeps giving them billions, while this keep losing market share,

[darkrider]

A win for gamers.... Ridiculous. How old are you? Your IQ is something else. Microsoft gamers arent getting a single new game... All games were already available... Microsoft is just taking games from the biggest buyers and trying to force Sony gamers to get theirs services. And destroying all those studios, because they couldn't manage 16 much less 23, redflops says hello. But 40. Jesus. What's coming....

[Ninver]

Makes no difference. I still have no desire to purchase an xbox. This just makes me not want to even more.

[Chard]

I’d like modern warfare 2 (2009) remastered on Steam thanks

[MrDead]

If MS gets this deal through what incentive will they have to put anything on Steam? Steam is a competing storefront with Xbox on PC, once MS buys enough of the market they get to say how is and isn't allowed the biggest multiplatform games.

[kindi_boy]

Wow the amount of misinformation around those comments is breathtaking.

[Soulsborne]

Doesnt matter lol

[FlameWater]

Hopefully Microsoft forces Blizzard to update the StarCraft Franchise

[TheLordOfStuff]

The interesting part to me is MS is required to give free licensing to any cloud competitor for any acti/bliz titles

[repsahj]

Only one left and we can finally move on.

[xFEARxPHOENIXx]

Let’s go Microsoft!

[Abear21]

This deal just reeks of insider gatekeeping tactics where the primary concern is about future of unproven technologies and stocks and the worry about who will get rich and less about actual gaming exclusivity and those impacts. Just get it done, COD on M$ is a great fit and will actually make the industry more competitive and Microsoft will actually have a leg to stand on. Maybe COD will actually be good now if it’s an exclusive game? Lol.