Microsoft CEO Confident Activision Blizzard Merger Will Be Approved

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is still confident that the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be approved, and said, “if this is about competition, let us have competition.”

In an interview with Bloomberg, Nadella says, “Of course, any acquisition of this size will go through scrutiny, but we feel very, very confident that we’ll come out.” 

A key concern, particularly for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK, has been that the merger could be anti-competitive for the gaming industry as a whole. However, Nadella points out that Microsoft’s main competitor, Sony, has also acquired studios, including big ones like Bungie.

Read More: UK Deepens Antitrust Probe of Microsoft’s Activision Deal

Concerns about exclusivity and access to popular gaming franchises have also played a part in this case, with PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan previously stating that Microsoft’s offer about extending the availability of the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty games on their platforms for only three years was inadequate. Microsoft did assure SIE that the franchise will always be multiplatform.

Nadella continues, “So if this is about competition, let us have competition.”

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