The EU Also Appears To Be Against the Microsoft Acquisition Of Activision

Microsoft has not been having a good time with its attempted acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King because yet another regulator has stepped forward to attempt to put the brakes on this massive merger. This time around, it’s the European Union that appears to be against the deal. According to some familiar with the deal, the European Union is likely to send a warning to Microsoft over this acquisition attempt.

 

This information was reported by Reuters, but it is simply the latest in a long line of organizations against the acquisition. This news comes days after it was reported that Google and Nvidia are against the deal, but that was preceded by Sony’s many objections to the merger and the Federal Trade Commission in the United States has even issued a lawsuit to attempt to block this deal.

This latest move by the European Union to potentially stop the merger entails the regulator sending a warning called a statement of objections that will list various concerns about the acquisition. Microsoft, in response to all this, has attempted a variety of things to assuage the worries of these various regulators, such as promising to bring Call of Duty to non-Microsoft platforms for ten years, but these concessions do not appear to be stopping these various regulatory agencies from pursuing action against Microsoft.

Microsoft has said, with regards to the European Union, that it is working with them to “address any marketplace concerns” and that its goal is to bring more games to more people and that this acquisition will allow them to do that. Somehow.

The road ahead may get even rockier as Microsoft attempts to get through the many organizations that are raising various concerns about such a large merger. We will continue to report on this as the story inevitably develops.
 

Justin van Huyssteen (@LC_Lupus)
Senior Editor, NoobFeed