A 35-point summary of the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s decision about the likely start of the second phase of the inquiry into Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been published. The circumstance, according to CMA, might seriously harm PlayStation.
Activision Blizzard’s acquisition by Microsoft has generated a lot of news today, with the Competition and Markets Authority confirming that it can conduct a second, more thorough investigation into the deal and Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox brand, quickly addressing the issue and outlining his plans for the next few years.
However, now that we have more information about the choices made by the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK office is worried that Microsoft would gain a significant competitive advantage over Sony.
“CMA is concerned that having complete control of this potent catalog, especially in light of Microsoft’s already strong position in the gaming console industry, operating systems, and cloud infrastructure, could cause Microsoft to harm consumers by undermining Sony, Microsoft’s closest rival in the field of games – to compete,” the association stated.
Sony is Microsoft’s primary competitor in the console market, according to CMA:
“According to CMA, Sony is the main rival who can be impacted by this behavior in the short to medium term. The evidence indicates that Sony and Microsoft are fierce rivals in terms of content, target market, and console technology.
As a result of CMA’s tight monitoring of Microsoft’s operations and the document’s mention of Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI’s exclusivity, CMA is concerned that PlayStation may lose the takeover.
Although Call of Duty is now more popular on Xbox than on PlayStation, according to CMA, “losing access to the game (or having it restricted due to competition) might have a considerable negative impact on Sony’s income and user base.”
However, CMA emphasizes that Sony’s issues may not surface for a few years, around the time of the launch of new consoles, as players may turn to Xboxes rather than the new PlayStation. This makes the scenario quite intriguing.
“This effect is probably going to be felt, especially with the release of next-gen platforms, as players are choosing new consoles. Therefore, according to CMA, the merger might seriously hurt Microsoft’s main opponent, which would be bad for overall competition in the console gaming market.