Brussels (awp/afp) – Microsoft defended on Tuesday in Brussels its plan to take over the American video game publisher Activision Blizzard for an amount of 69 billion dollars and rejected during a hearing with the services of the Commission the fears harm to competition.
Microsoft, owner of the Xbox, launched a bid early last year to create the world’s third-largest video game company by revenue by acquiring the owner of hit games ‘Candy Crush’ and ‘Call Of Duty’. “, but the project ran into competition problems.
The final major hurdle came from UK regulators. In their interim findings released earlier this month, they said the deal might significantly harm competition and consumer choice.
Microsoft chairman Brad Smith said in Brussels he hopes regulators, including the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, view the deal as an “opportunity to bring this game to an additional 150 million people. , which will benefit consumers.
He rejected any demands for Microsoft to sell hit games like “Call Of Duty” in exchange, saying it would be “neither feasible nor realistic”.
Mr Smith, however, said he was “more optimistic regarding the chances of getting this deal done tonight than 24 hours ago, not because of what happened in the courtroom, but thanks two chords”.
He was referring to deals with Nvidia, which would allow the cloud gaming service access to Xbox PC games for ten years, and one with rival Nintendo, which would see Microsoft commit to bringing the popular game “Call of Duty to the rival console maker.
“We’re bringing Call Of Duty to 150 million more people, 150 million devices that don’t have access to Call Of Duty,” he said.
Sony, Microsoft’s biggest rival, strongly opposes the deal, but Smith said on Tuesday that Microsoft was ready to agree a solution to allay Sony’s concerns.
“I am ready to sign,” he said, assuring that he was ready to sit down with Sony to “dialogue” in order to find an agreement.
Brad Smith came to Brussels with several Microsoft officials for a closed-door hearing where he sought to convince EU antitrust regulators to approve the deal with Activision.
The European Commission stressed that “the investigation is still ongoing” and said it would not comment on the hearing.
The Commission, guardian of competition in the EU, fears in particular that Microsoft might “lock” access to Activision’s video games for console and PC and might be tempted to put in place “strategies to foreclose competing distributors “.
She must make a decision for March 23, the end of a period of 90 days for her in-depth investigation.
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