Microsoft announced in January that it intends to buy the video game company Activision Blizzard for a record sum of 68.7 billion US dollars. The EU Commission now fears that Microsoft could restrict access to popular games like “Call of Duty” as a result of the takeover. Microsoft could prevent competitors from distributing Blizzard video games on their own consoles, the commission said on Tuesday evening. The conditions for using these games could also deteriorate.
Microsoft had assured in February that games like “Call of Duty” would not only be available on the in-house Xbox platform. However, this was obviously not enough to allay the concerns of the European competition authorities.
Apart from restrictions due to possibly more Xbox exclusive titles, the Commission also sees the risk that gamers could be disadvantaged with game subscriptions. For a monthly fee, users can choose from numerous games without having to buy each one individually. Specifically, the EU Commission fears that Microsoft will no longer be able to make games available for subscriptions from other providers.
“Foreclosure strategies of this kind could restrict competition in the markets for distribution of console and PC video games, which would lead to higher prices, lower quality and less innovation on the part of console game providers,” the European Commission said. The providers, in turn, could pass this on to consumers.
The Commission will now examine the case intensively and make a decision by March 23. In theory, it could ban the takeover or only approve it subject to conditions.
In addition to “Call of Duty”, Blizzard also includes titles such as “Overwatch”, “World of Warcraft”, “Starcraft” and “Hearthstone”. The company hit the headlines last year because employees had criticized a sexist corporate culture.
Source: Nachrichten
