By Deborah Taylor
The European Union (EU) has made a decision regarding the availability of Activision Blizzard games that is likely to disappoint and confuse many gamers. This ruling pertains to a range of issues discussed in a document from Section 8.3.3.2.1 to page 195. Here is a summary of the key points:
Firstly, the EU rejected the proposal to allow third parties to sell Activision Blizzard games, arguing that it is unnecessary for these games to be available on all platforms. It is believed that Microsoft and Sony can effectively compete with each other without the need for cross-platform availability.
The EU also dismissed the notion that Activision Blizzard games must be available in all multi-game subscription services, such as Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. The EU’s focus is specifically on cloud gaming and the long-term contracts between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are deemed sufficient in addressing any related concerns.
There was also a request to make Game Pass available on operating systems other than Windows, including MacOS and Linux. However, the EU’s position is that as long as the games can be streamed on the cloud, they can be played on any operating system.
Furthermore, concerns were raised about the potential for Microsoft to create inferior versions of Activision Blizzard games on PC in order to promote cloud gaming. The EU dismissed this claim.
The EU also rejected the idea of requiring Activision Blizzard to develop native versions of their games for different operating systems, such as MacOS and Linux. They do not wish to alter the current market situation.
Lastly, one complaint was made about the Windows license fees paid by cloud gaming companies. The EU argues that this issue existed before the merger and cannot be addressed as part of this deal.
In conclusion, the EU believes that the commitments proposed by Microsoft adequately address the competition concerns raised by this merger. The regulators worldwide, including the EU, considered a broader perspective that takes into account the interests of both consumers and the video game industry. It is important to understand that not all video games are required to be available on every platform, and the availability of multiplatform games reflects market demand rather than a requirement for fairness.
