![]() By Daniel Howley, tech editor at Yahoo Finance. The UK’s ruling is projected to set the tone for the FTC's decision in the US, and potentially for the EU's decision, which was delayed in March.Īlexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. After all, while consumers in those regions might not be able to afford pricy PCs and consoles, they can get their hands on low-cost smartphones. And that's important when trying to reach consumers in developing countries. Mobile is the fastest-growing gaming segment thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones. Microsoft would also stand to benefit from Activision Blizzard's mobile-focused King business. It's not just cloud gaming and "Call of Duty," though. The FTC has also expressed concerns that Microsoft is one of only two high-performance console makers. ![]() Bethesda is best known for the game series including "The Elder Scrolls" and "Fallout." ![]() The FTC has also accused Microsoft of backtracking on assurances it would keep content developed by Zenimax on third-party platforms after it acquired that company for $7.5 billion in 2021.Īfter the acquisition, Microsoft announced that the first new franchise in more than 20 years from Zenimax's highly regarded Bethesda studio, “Starfield,” will be an Xbox and PC exclusive. Check out the latest trailer for Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 to see what to expect. Microsoft has previously said that the company wouldn't move forward with the deal without "Call of Duty." 1 day ago &0183 &32 Plunder makes a return on April 26, 2023. It reached similar agreements with Nintendo and Nvidia. Microsoft counters antitrust concerns by pointing out that it offered to sign a 10-year agreement to continue offering “Call of Duty” on Sony's PlayStation on the same schedule that it offers the franchise on its Xbox. Cutting out Sony would mean eating into “Call of Duty’s” sales. The latest title in the franchise, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” topped out at $1 billion in sales over its first 10 days on the market. The tech giant is eyeing the deal as an opportunity to solidify dominance in the gaming industry and further eclipse Sony in the still-nascent cloud-gaming industry, estimated by data firm Newzoo to jump to $8.1 billion in 2025 from $2.4 billion in revenue in 2022.Ĭloud gaming allows gamers to play titles that would normally require high-powered consoles and PCs on low-powered devices including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and Chromebooks.Ī central concern for regulators is that Microsoft's ownership of the “Call of Duty” franchise "would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business," the FTC has said. Separately, the US Federal Trade Commission - which sued to block the acquisition - and the European Commission continue to evaluate the deal.Īn acquisition of Activision Blizzard would catapult Microsoft into the position of the third-largest gaming company in the world by revenue, after Tencent and Sony.
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