Sony isn’t the only company raising concerns to the Federal Trade Commission about Microsoft’s attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as both Google and Nvidia have reportedly also brought up complaints regarding the deal. While Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media was a relatively painless affair, the company has faced stiff competition to its purchase of Activision Blizzard, which would give it ownership of franchises like Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush.
Sony has been a vocal opponent of the acquisition, especially when it comes to the Call of Duty franchise and potential exclusivity deals further down the road. Sources have revealed to Bloomberg that Google and Nvidia have also spoken to the FTC about the deal and their concerns about how it could affect the industry. Nvidia did not outright oppose the acquisition, as its issue is related to access to games in the future, suggesting a similar complaint to the one put forward by Sony.
Google and Nvidia’s complaints are centered around Microsoft gaining an unfair advantage in the subscription, mobile gaming, and streaming spaces. Google might be shutting down Stadia, but there is still a ton of potential in the streaming gaming space, and Microsoft is in a prime position to become the market leader, thanks to its streaming options with Game Pass. Nvidia is also heavily invested in the streaming space, through services like GeForce Now, so it makes sense that it would want a fair playing field going forward.
It’s unclear whether these complaints will have an effect in the long run, but some of Microsoft’s biggest competitors are making it difficult for the Activision Blizzard acquisition to go through. The Game Pass subscribers who were hoping for a quick resolution to the complaints and for a ton of games to be shadow-dropped onto the service overnight might be in for the long haul. It’s possible that all of these regulatory hurdles might stop the deal from going through.
