Amongst constant ongoing hurdles for its Activision deal, Microsoft is now facing a legal lawsuit from gamers who want Microsoft to halt this deal. These 10 gamers have claimed that if the deal of Microsoft acquiring Activision is allowed to happen, it will create a monopoly in the gaming market as Activision is one of the largest gaming companies globally. Microsoft is already facing criticism and investigation from FTC and other regulatory bodies because of the same reason. Sony, Microsoft’s competitor in the console gaming industry, has accused Microsoft several times saying that the company is trying to threaten Sony’s market share by acquiring Activision.
The US Federal Trade Commission has already filed a case against Microsoft two weeks ago to block this acquisition deal legally. This is mainly because Activision is one of the most well-known gaming studios, mainly for its franchises such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, and many more. These games have offered a significant market share to Activision, as gamers enjoy their games through playing, streaming, and watching live streams. On the other hand, Microsoft has already managed to hold a leading position in the console market with its Xbox and Xbox Game Pass, which allows players to have access to thousands of games without actually buying the games. Sony is the sole contender which is challenging Microsoft in console gaming with its PlayStation lineup. Because of this, Sony has been bashing Microsoft for its attempt to have a monopoly in the rapidly growing gaming industry.
Activision has proposed a value of $69 billion to acquire Activision, which makes it the biggest acquisition deal in the gaming market. Since its announcement, Microsoft has been facing criticism in the market from regulatory authorities, competition, and its customers because of the fear of monopoly. Microsoft has made sure from time to time that no matter what, the company will be doing anything in its power to complete the deal. Brad Smith, the President of Microsoft, said that he and his team have complete confidence on their side of things and welcome the opportunity to present their case in court. While talking about the possibility of creating a monopoly, Microsoft said that its acquisition of Activision will bring many opportunities for the competition and will help them expand its share in the gaming market as Microsoft will then be able to offer more games to a larger number of people. This statement sounds kind of contrary to their vision of bringing new opportunities for the competition as by bringing more games to a larger audience, Microsoft is planning to increase their share which correlates with the FTC’s and competition’s accusations that Microsoft is planning to have a monopoly over the gaming market and capturing a massive market share. Microsoft has said that if the deal gets closed successfully, it will make Call of Duty available on Sony and Nintendo for 10 years, thus helping the competition and offering the opportunity to create their franchises. But at the same time, the revenue by hosting these games on competitor platforms, Microsoft will indeed be earning more. As of now, all the pointers are going against Microsoft.
