The Activision Blizzard acquisition is one of the subjects that’s been catching a lot of attention. Since the prospect was announced in January 2022, has had its own steady stream of updates from many different parties expressing approval (or lack of). Just yesterday, we had one of the more relevant figures express its stance as the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
This move comes after almost sixteen months of back and forth between Microsoft and various countries trying to approve the merger, and their reasons for doing so hinged on cloud gaming and Nintendo Switch’s technical performance, among other reasons. It’s worth noting that the CMA takes such a stance based on the grounds of providing a fairer ground for cloud gaming. Earlier today, some figures in this space began to speak against the CMA’s rather blunt decision. The first of which is NVIDIA GeForce NOW, which expressed the following statement.
GeForce NOW and other cloud gaming providers stand to gain an even deeper catalog of games if Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision is completed.
We see this as a benefit to cloud gaming and hope for a positive resolution.
— 🌩️ NVIDIA GeForce NOW (@NVIDIAGFN) April 27, 2023
It’s worth noting that GeForce NOW, NVIDIA’s cloud gaming service, is quite popular and allows users to take their supported titles to any given platform, including phones, Smart TVs, and more devices. They note that Activision’s library becoming more available for users via the cloud is a net positive (and therefore good for competition), a direct contrast to the CMA’s view of things.
Another cloud gaming service besides GeForce NOW is Boosteroid. This company also shared its remarks on the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard merger with the following Tweet.
Boosteroid team and our users disagree with the CMA’s decision against Microsoft’s purchase of Activision. Our position on this issue is in line with that of Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith.
We hope for a quick resolution to this question.https://t.co/94vGdKjySe
— Boosteroid Cloud Gaming (@Boosteroid_main) April 26, 2023
Cloud gaming service providers are, by no means, the only ones expressing their disapproval in the CMA’s rather hasty deal blocker. Florian Mueller, who you may remember from two weeks ago when he dissected several of Sony’s patents and their “childish” wording, also weighed in yesterday, saying the following:
The CMA is not preventing something that would damage competition, but is shielding a market leader from competition and preventing a serious challenger to Apple’s and Google’s mobile app stores from emerging.
The CMA has now lost its reputation as a reasonable regulator. https://t.co/B1GeHJ6KSu
— Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents) April 26, 2023
For what it’s worth, it’s a more… extreme point of view than what others have said. What’s especially daunting about the cloud gaming notion is that all this would have done to Call of Duty (and subsequently other Blizzard titles, in terms of cloud gaming) is make it MORE accessible on the Cloud as seen in the partnerships that Microsoft has made with other cloud gaming providers and even platforms such as the Nintendo Switch. The latter of which was dismissed by the CMA due to its “technical incapability” of running Call of Duty titles.
One of those cloud services is Boosteroid (mentioned above). Given how popular games like Modern Warfare II and Overwatch are, the opposition on such a basis feels utterly baffling. Regardless, whether this decision will be overturned or maintained is entirely up to the CMA. We at least know that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will begin to fight for the appeal more aggressively than before. This story is still developing, and we’ll provide more updates where available.
