Google And Nvidia Reportedly Express Concerns To US Financial Regulators About Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Buyout: Regulators in Europe, the US, and the UK have already expressed strong opposition to the Microsoft-Activision merger.
However, only Sony has publicly criticized this transaction, with other members of the industry remaining silent. That has since changed, however, as it is said that Google and Nvidia have joined Sony in expressing alarm over this potential merger.
Google and Nvidia have reportedly addressed the FTC to voice their worries about this agreement, which, if finalized, might have an impact on the mobile gaming, cloud gaming, and subscription industry, according to Eurogamer (via Bloomberg).
According to the article, Nvidia wasn’t outright opposed to the transaction; rather, it advocated for “equal and open access” to games, which would be compromised if Microsoft acquires Activision.
Undoubtedly, Nvidia’s GeForce cloud gaming platform is the source of its worries. Given that it reportedly paid Activision $360 million to avoid starting a competing app store, Google is undoubtedly worried about how Microsoft’s acquisition of the company could affect mobile gaming.
However, this strengthens Sony’s position against one of its main competitors. It has been virtually entirely responsible for the opposition to this merger, to the point where Jim Ryan, the CEO of SIE, reportedly traveled to Europe to persuade the EU to prevent the merger.
Its main worry is Call of Duty’s PlayStation future, which is still up in the air despite Microsoft’s commitment to keeping the game on the system for another ten years.
The proposed merger should have been nearing completion by now, but given that Microsoft is still being sued by the FTC past August 2023, it appears unlikely that the agreement will be finalized by June 2023. Even the UK’s CMA put off conducting its inquiry by two months.
However, as was made clear during the pre-trial hearing, Microsoft appears unfazed and is not eager to resolve its legal dispute with the FTC.
However, Take-Two and Meta have come out in favor of the tech giant, believing that the move will benefit the sector. The agreement has already received approval from Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Chile.
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