Wikipedia

User:Daniel Maak/Proposed2

< User:Daniel Maak

Daniel Maak/Proposed2
InitiatorMicrosoft
TargetActivision Blizzard
TypeFull acquisition
CostUS$68.7 billion
InitiatedJanuary 18, 2022
StatusPending

On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in cash. Under the terms of the agreement, which were expected to close by Q2 2023 pending regulatory and shareholder approval, Microsoft would own Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King under the Xbox Game Studios (Microsoft Gaming) division.

The acquisition would give Microsoft ownership of franchises including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Candy Crush. If approved by international regulators, it would be the largest video game acquisition in history. Several countries have approved the merger, including the European Commission. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally filed complaints to block the acquisition on the basis that the merger would hinder competition, which has extended the expected completion into late 2023 or 2024. Sony has publicly argued against the merger, claiming that the combined company would deny the PlayStation platform of games like Call of Duty.

Background

edit

Activision Blizzard is one of the largest video game publishers in the world, with annual revenues of about $8.8 billion in 2021.[1] The company is composed of five business units:[2] Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, King,[3] Major League Gaming,[4] and Activision Blizzard Studios.[5][6] Among its assets are ownership of Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro from Activision's studios; Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft, and Overwatch from Blizzard Entertainment; and Candy Crush Saga from King.[7][8]

Microsoft is a dominant player in computing software, and also makes the Xbox line of game consoles and operates Xbox Game Studios, a collection of developers to create first party titles. In March 2021, Microsoft closed on its acquisition of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for an estimated $7.5 billion, making it one of the largest video game acquisitions by that time.[9]

History

edit

Announcement

edit

On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in an all-cash deal, or approximately $95 per share. Activision Blizzard's stock price jumped nearly 40% that day in pre-market trading. The deal would make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in the world and the largest headquartered in the Americas, behind Chinese company Tencent and the Japanese conglomerate Sony. If closed, it would also be the most expensive video game-related acquisition in to date.[10] Goldman Sachs will serve as the financial advisor to Microsoft, and Allen & Company will be Activision's financial advisors. Simpson Thacher will serve as legal advisor for Microsoft while Skadden will serve as legal advisor for Activision.[11] The deal has been approved by both companies' board of directors and is expected to close in 2023 following international government regulatory review of the action.[12][13] Upon completion of the deal, Activision Blizzard would be a sibling entity to Xbox Game Studios under a new Microsoft Gaming division with Phil Spencer as its lead. The deal would also allow Microsoft to offer Activision Blizzard games on its Xbox Game Pass service.[13] Spencer also spoke about reviving some older Activision Blizzard franchises he himself enjoyed, mentioning series such as King's Quest, Guitar Hero and Hexen: Beyond Heretic.[14]

Kotick stated that he, Spencer, and Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella have had discussions in 2021 on their concern of the power of Tencent, NetEase, Apple, Inc. and Google, and that Activision Blizzard lacked the computation expertise in machine learning and data analytics that would be necessary to compete with these companies. According to Kotick, this led to the idea of Microsoft, which does have those capabilities, acquiring Activision Blizzard at an attractive price point.[15] In a statement released on Activision Blizzard's investor website, the company said its industry is the "most dynamic and exciting category of entertainment across all platforms" and that gaming will be the forefront of the development of the emerging metaverse. Some journalists saw this acquisition, and Microsoft's March 2021 acquisition of Bethesda Softworks, as a bid to compete against Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook.[16][12][13]

The announcement had come in the wake of events related to California Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Activision Blizzard, A lawsuit raised in July 2021 accusing the company of sexual harassment, employment discrimination and retaliation on the part of Activision Blizzard.[17][18] Allegations had expanded by November 2021 to include actions that Activision Blizzard's CEO Bobby Kotick had done.[19][20] The timing of the acquisition was reported by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News to be in response to the ongoing DFEH lawsuit. Reports from both newspapers stated that Activision Blizzard had been considering a buyout from other companies, including Facebook parent company Meta Platforms, due to the weaker than expected financial performance of their latest game releases and production delays.[21][22][23] Based on SEC filings related to the merger, Microsoft approached Activision Blizzard again in the days immediately following the November 2021 Wall Street Journal report regarding a buyout.[24] While Kotick had been hesitant about selling the company, the board had gone ahead with the deal as they continued to fear the ongoing impact of the lawsuit while Kotick had remains on the board[21][23] The buyout would provide a graceful exit for Kotick in the future, ranging in $252.2-292.9 million over most scenarios.[21][23][25]

According to official announcements, under the deal Kotick will remain the CEO of Activision Blizzard,[26][27][28][29] and is expected to keep the position while the deal goes through regulatory processes, as Activision Blizzard remains independent from Microsoft until the deal closes.[30] According to The Wall Street Journal, Kotick "will depart once the deal closes" under Microsoft's management, while Kotick said in an interview that he has an interest in remaining in the company.[19][31][32][15] Microsoft has yet to speak directly about the Activision Blizzard lawsuit following news of the acquisition, however the company announced a week prior that it would be reviewing its own sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies.[33]

Activision Blizzard's shareholders approved of the acquisition near-unanimously in April 2022.[34]

Regulatory response

edit

Due to the size of the acquisition, the deal is being reviewed by several government commerce bodies for antitrust concerns.[35]

Country Commission Status Date Ref.
  Serbia Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) Approved 08/12/2022 [36][35]
  Saudi Arabia General Authority for Competition [ar] (GAC) Approved 08/21/2022 [37][35]
  Brazil Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE) Approved 10/05/2022 [35][38][39]
  USA Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Rejected[a] 12/08/2022 [40]
  Chile Fiscalía Nacional Económica [es] (FNE) Approved 12/29/2022 [41]
  Japan Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) Approved 03/28/2023 [42][43]
  South Africa The Competition Commission South Africa (CCSA) Approved 04/17/2023 [44][45]
  UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Rejected 04/26/2023 [46][47]
  Ukraine Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) Approved 04/27/2023 [48]
  EU[b] European Commission (EC) Approved 05/15/2023 [49]
  China State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) Approved 05/19/2023 [50][51]
  South Korea Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) In process [52][49]
  New Zealand Commerce Commission New Zealand In process [53][49]
  Australia Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) In process [54][49]

U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

edit

In the United States, the acquisition was reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rather than traditionally by the U.S. Department of Justice, as the agency had raised more concerns over mergers and acquisitions in the Big Tech sector in the last decade.[55] U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Cory Booker expressed their concerns about the merger to the FTC as part of the FTC's investigation, saying that both companies have "failed to protect the rights and dignity of their workers" and that the merger should be opposed if "the transaction is likely to enhance monopsony power and worsen the negotiating position between workers and the parties."[56] The FTC formally stated its intention to block the acquisition as proposed on December 8, 2022. The FTC expressed concern that the acquisition would harm consumers of Activision Blizzard's games and give Microsoft too much control of certain parts of the industry, such as cloud gaming. The FTC also pointed to the acquisition of Zenimax, which the FTC claimed that Microsoft had agreed to a concession from the European Union to not make their games exclusive to the Xbox and later broke.[57][58] In a statement made to Axios' Stephan Totilo, the European Commission stated that they had cleared Microsoft's acquisition of Zenimax unconditionally as they saw no "material impact" on the gaming market even if Microsoft made Zenimax's titles exclusive.[59]

Microsoft responded to the FTC's complaint that Sony itself is one of the largest platforms with exclusive titles that contractually cannot be made for Xbox. They also said they still plan to offer content for multiplayer Bethesda games like Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 for all platforms to avoid undercutting the playerbase. Microsoft also initially challenged the constitutionality of the FTC due to the ability for the Commissioner to be removed by the President at will, and their use of administrative law judges to initially review cases, both which have founding in recent Supreme Court cases,[60] but removed this language in an amended response, sticking to the video game market.[61] In February 2023, the FTC denied a request by Sony to drop a subpoena filed by Microsoft, requesting internal documentation from Sony related to their third-party exclusivity deals.[62]

European Commission

edit

After receiving a formal notification by Microsoft on September 30, 2022, the European Commission began its first phase review of the acquisition under the EU merger law.[63][64] The Commission sent out a questionnaire to several game industry firms to ask them about the potential impact of the acquisition on their livelihood, including if Microsoft does opt to lock rivals out of Activision games in the future.[65] The Commission announced on November 8, 2022, that it will conduct an additional review of the merger "to ensure that the gaming ecosystem remains vibrant to the benefit of users in a sector that is evolving at a fast pace.".[66]

The EC filed its formal complaint against the acquisition on February 3, 2023. The EC said they were considered that Microsoft may be "incentivized to block access to Activision's popular Call of Duty franchise", which could lead to "reduce competition in the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games, leading to higher prices, lower quality and less innovation for console game distributors, which may, in turn, be passed on to consumers."[67] Microsoft met with the EC regulators on February 21, 2023, announcing that they had secured a ten-year agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to that platform alongside the Xbox release, as well as a separate ten-year agreement providing Call of Duty and other first-party Microsoft games with Nvidia as part of their GeForce Now streaming service.[68]

The Commission approved the acquisition on May 15, 2023. Among concessions that Microsoft had made were the numerous deals to allow Activision Blizzard games to be played on cloud gaming service, believing this would help grow that sector. The Commission dismissed the concerns about platform exclusivity as Microsoft had reason why it would not be financially viable to withhold Call of Duty from other platforms. And even if they did, Sony had the capacity with their own studios to compete fairly.[69]

UK Competition and Markets Authority

edit

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated its intent to perform a higher-level review of the acquisition in August 2022. The phase 1 ruling, issued on September 1, 2022, said that the merger "may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within a market or markets in the United Kingdom".[70][71] Preliminary findings of phase 2 of the investigation was reported on February 8, 2023, concluding that the acquisition "could result in higher prices, fewer choices, and less innovation for UK gamers", as well as less competition in the console and cloud gaming spaces. The CMA has recommended that Activision should at least divest the Call of Duty franchise.[72] However, following Microsoft's commitments to ensure the release of Call of Duty on multiple platforms for ten years, in association with meeting other regulatory bodies, the CMA changed its stance by late March 2023. In its new statement, the CMA said "While the CMA's original analysis indicated that this strategy would be profitable under most scenarios, new data (which provides better insight into the actual purchasing behaviour of CoD gamers) indicates that this strategy would be significantly loss-making under any plausible scenario."[73]

The CMA formally ruled against the merger on April 26, 2023. Among various reasons, CMA stated that Microsoft had already a strong position in cloud gaming, and the merger would only strengthen that position. CMA also stated that Microsoft's concessions related to the 10-year contracts for Call of Duty on other platforms were not enough to satisfy their concerns, and doubted that Microsoft would be able to port Call of Duty onto the Nintendo Switch. The CMA further prevented Microsoft to initiate any acquisition of Activision again in the future without seeking pre-clearance from the CMA.[74] Microsoft stated it planned to appeal the decision, a process that would extend the potential completion of the merger to the end of 2023 if not into 2024.[75][76]

The CMA's decision had become subject to political debate within the UK, particularly after the European Commission approved the deal. Current prime minister Rishi Sunak aimed to make the UK the tech industry leader in the European region, and the CMA's blockage ran against that position. Representatives of the CMA have defended their position to members of Parliament, standing their ground that the proposed merger would give Microsoft too much of an advantage.[77]

Others

edit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviewed potential claims that investors close to Kotick engaged in insider trading prior to the acquisition announcement.[78] Activision Blizzard said they would fully cooperate with the SEC's review.[79] South Africa's Competition Commission approved the merger in April 2023.[45]

The deal is also seeing review in Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.[71][80] In December 2022, Chile's regulatory authority (Fiscalia Nacional Economica) voted to approve the deal in Phase 1.[81] The Japan Fair Trade Commission had also given approval for the merger by March 2023.[42] On May 19, 2023 China's State Administration for Market Regulation approved the Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition[82][83]

edit

The New York City Employees' Retirement System, which are shareholders of Activision Blizzard, sued the company in April 2022, arguing that the company had made the acquisition deal quickly with Microsoft as to try to cover up the misdoings of Kotick that had been uncovered as part of the ongoing DCEH lawsuit and escape any liability.[84]

Sjunde AP-Fonden, a Swedish-government run pension fund with investments in Activision-Blizzard, filed a lawsuit in November 2022 within the U.S. court system against Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard of collusion in establishing the deal. The lawsuit asserts that because of Activision-Blizzard's weakened position resulting from the workplace harassment lawsuit from the California DFEH, that Microsoft negotiated with Kotick and Activision-Blizzard to buy the company at a reduced price. The lawsuit also named Kotick for using the deal to cover up his alleged misconduct related to the DFEH suit.[85]

A group of gamers filed suit against Microsoft in December 2022 to block the merger under the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 which enables consumers to file such lawsuits. The suit argues that should the merger go through, Microsoft's combined power would disrupt the video game marketplace, giving Microsoft the capability to outpace competitors and take a stronger hold.[86] Microsoft failed to have the case dismissed in January 2023, and arguments related to a preliminary discussion was presented to the judge in March 2023.[87] The judge dismissed the suit in March 2023, citing that the gamers had not shown sufficient evidence of harm to the industry should the merger go through.[88] The gamers refiled their suit, using additional evidence and claims provided to them by Sony, in April 2023.[89]

Reactions and commentary

edit

Several Activision Blizzard employees have expressed cautious optimism with respect to the deal, with the ABK Workers Alliance, a group of employees pushing for unionization in the wake of the DFEH lawsuit, saying the acquisition did "not change the goals" of the Alliance.[90][91][92] A report by Business Insider suggested several Microsoft employees have raised their concern on the deal with respect to the sexual harassment scandals and Activision Blizzard workplace culture, hoping for "concrete steps to make sure we aren't introducing a dangerous and unwelcome culture."[93] On January 19, 2022, World Bank president David Malpass criticized the acquisition, contrasting the acquisition price with the smaller amount of bond financing available to developing countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.[94]

Concerns on Microsoft's potential ownership of the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold over 400 million units by April 2021 and considered one of the most valuable properties within the video game industry,[95] have been raised by Sony Interactive Entertainment and regulators. Shortly after the acquisition announcements, Sony had stated that they expect Microsoft to honor all of Activision Blizzard's publishing agreements for multiplatform games, assuring that Call of Duty would remain available on the PlayStation platform and not made a console-exclusive title. Spencer and Microsoft president Brad Smith reassured that Microsoft will continue these existing agreements and expressed their desire to keep Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard games on PlayStation beyond the terms of these agreements, as well as explore the opportunity to bring these games to the Nintendo consoles.[96][97][98][99]

Around September 2022, Xbox head Phil Spencer said Microsoft had written a letter to Sony in January, affirming their commitment to maintain Call of Duty on the PlayStation "several years" beyond the current contractual agreements set before the acquisition, which are said to last until 2024 according to Bloomberg.[100][101] Spencer said their offer to Sony "goes well beyond typical gaming industry agreements".[102] Sony's president Jim Ryan responded to Spencer by stating that in their commitment, Microsoft only stated their intent to keep Call of Duty for three more years beyond the current contract terms, and that "their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft's proposal undermines this principle."[102] Public documents filed as part of the UK's investigation revealed that Microsoft would be limited by prior contractual agreements between Sony and Activision to provide Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass for several years.[103]

Microsoft stated that it had written to Sony on November 11, 2022, to agree to a ten-year commitment for Call of Duty to remain non-exclusive to Xbox.[104] Sony further stated that Microsoft's intent with the acquisition is to remove Sony and PlayStation from competition with Microsoft and instead have the PlayStation platform more comparable to the Nintendo Switch, which Sony stated is based on taking up a family-friendly position and not attempting to compete with adult-rated games like Call of Duty.[105] Besides the commitment to Sony, Microsoft also had committed in December 2022 to a similar ten-year deal to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo's platforms, further attempting to prove to regulators they had no intent to make the title exclusive to Xbox or Windows.[106]

Spencer further had stated that Microsoft's intent with the acquisition is access to Activision's mobile games, which would include those by its King division such as Candy Crush Saga. He said that while there are 200 million game console users worldwide, the mobile market reaches over 3 billion people.[107]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ lawsuit ongoing
  2. ^ Represanting 30 Staates

References

edit
  1. ^ "Activision Blizzard 2021 Annual Report". Activision Blizzard. April 29, 2022. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "Activision - Blizzard: Our Company". activisionblizzard.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  3. ^ "Activision Blizzard to Buy King Digital, Maker of Candy Crush". The New York Times. November 2, 2015. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  4. ^ "Activision Blizzard beefs up e-sports muscle". CNET. Archived from the original on January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  5. ^ Morris, Chris (October 22, 2015). "Why Activision-Blizzard just launched a new eSports division". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  6. ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (November 6, 2015). "Call of Duty Movie, Skylander TV Show Headline New Activision Blizzard Film Studio". IGN. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  7. ^ Byrd, Matthew (January 18, 2022). "Every Activision Blizzard Franchise Now Owned by Xbox". Den of Geek. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  8. ^ "The 13 Biggest Franchises Microsoft Will Own After the Xbox and Activision Deal". IGN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). January 20, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  9. ^ Robinson, Andy (March 9, 2021). "Microsoft confirms its Bethesda acquisition is complete and 'some games' will be exclusive". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  10. ^ "Why Microsoft is splashing $69bn on video games". The Economist. January 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Jackson, Sierra (January 18, 2022). "Simpson Thacher, Skadden drafted for Microsoft's $69 bln Activision buy". Reuters. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Kovach, Steve (January 18, 2022). "Microsoft to buy Activision in $68.7 billion all-cash deal". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c Warren, Tom (January 18, 2022). "Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion". The Verge. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  14. ^ Park, Gene (January 20, 2022). "Xbox CEO Phil Spencer on reviving old Activision games as Microsoft positions itself as tech's gaming company". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Takahashi, Dean (January 18, 2022). "Bobby Kotick interview: Why Activision Blizzard did the deal with Microsoft". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  16. ^ "Activision Blizzard | Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone, across every device". investor.activision.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  17. ^ Allsup, Maeve (July 21, 2021). "Activision Blizzard Sued Over 'Frat Boy' culture, Harassment". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  18. ^ "California sues Activision Blizzard over alleged harassment". BBC. July 21, 2021. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Needleman, Kirsten Grind, Ben Fritz and Sarah E. (November 16, 2021). "Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Knew for Years About Sexual-Misconduct Allegations at Videogame Giant". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Schreier, Jason; Molot, Clara (November 16, 2021). "Activision's CEO Is Embattled by Staff and Investors". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  21. ^ a b c Grind, Kirsten; Lombardo, Cara; Fritz, Ben (January 19, 2022). "Activision Blizzard's Workplace Problems Spurred $75 Billion Microsoft Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  22. ^ Bass, Dina; Lanxon, Nate (January 18, 2022). "Microsoft Buys Scandal-Tainted Activision in Bet on Metaverse". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  23. ^ a b c Bass, Dina; Baker, Liana (January 19, 2022). "Activision Misconduct Fallout Prompted Microsoft to Pursue Deal". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  24. ^ Novet, Jordan (February 18, 2022). "Microsoft's talks with Activision started days after report on sexual misconduct sent stock tumbling". CNBC. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  25. ^ "ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. - DEF 14A". www.sec.gov. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  26. ^ "Bobby Kotick will remain as Activision Blizzard CEO after Microsoft acquisition". VGC. January 18, 2022. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  27. ^ Skrebels, Joe (January 18, 2022). "Bobby Kotick Will Remain Activision Blizzard CEO After Xbox Acquisition". IGN. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  28. ^ Myers, Maddy (January 18, 2022). "Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard for $68.7B". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  29. ^ "Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone, across every device". Stories. January 18, 2022. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  30. ^ Mackay, Liam (January 18, 2022). "Microsoft to acquire Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard". Charlie INTEL. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  31. ^ Austin Wood (January 18, 2022). "Bobby Kotick will remain Activision Blizzard CEO but reports suggest he may leave once Microsoft deal closes". gamesradar. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  32. ^ Kaplan, Anna. "Activision Blizzard CEO Kotick Reportedly Leaving Company After Microsoft Deal Closes". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  33. ^ Nightingale, Ed (January 18, 2022). "Microsoft to review its sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  34. ^ "Activision Blizzard shareholders approve $68.7 bln Microsoft deal". Reuters. April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  35. ^ a b c d Yun Chee, Foo (November 28, 2022). "Exclusive: Microsoft likely to offer EU concessions soon in Activision deal -sources". Reuters. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  36. ^ Michael Brandon Ingram (November 29, 2022). "Serbia Approves Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard". Gamerant. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  37. ^ "Saudi Arabia approves Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition". Washington Post. August 23, 2022. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  38. ^ Tassi, Paul. "Brazil Approves Microsoft Activision Acquisition, Says It Doesn't Need To Protect PlayStation". Forbes. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  39. ^ "SEI/CADE - 1128858 - Despacho SG". sei.cade.gov.br. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  40. ^ "FTC Seeks to Block Microsoft Corp.'s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc". Federal Trade Commission. December 8, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  41. ^ Editor-in-Chief, James Batchelor (January 3, 2023). "Chile approves Microsoft Activision Blizzard merger". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved May 17, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  42. ^ a b "Japan's competition regulator has approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard". VGC. March 28, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  43. ^ "The JFTC Reviewed the Proposed Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. by Microsoft Corporation | Japan Fair Trade Commission". www.jftc.go.jp. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  44. ^ Batchelor, James (April 18, 2023). "South Africa to approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  45. ^ a b "Microsoft's Deal To Buy Activision Blizzard Approved In Another Country". GameSpot. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  46. ^ Kharpal, Ryan Browne,Arjun (April 26, 2023). "Britain blocks Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard". CNBC. Retrieved May 17, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ "Microsoft / Activision deal prevented to protect innovation and choice in cloud gaming". GOV.UK. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  48. ^ Writer, Jeffrey Rousseau Staff (April 28, 2023). "Ukraine approves Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  49. ^ a b c d Warren, Tom (May 15, 2023). "Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition approved by EU regulators". The Verge. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  50. ^ Fineman, Joshua (May 19, 2023). "Microsoft's planned $69B Activision purchase gets China antitrust approval - report | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  51. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (May 19, 2023). "China Approves Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard". IGN. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  52. ^ 김수연 (April 14, 2022). "S. Korean regulator starts review of Microsoft takeover deal". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  53. ^ CPI (January 24, 2023). "New Zealand Regulator Postpones Microsoft-Activision Blizzard Decision". Competition Policy International. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  54. ^ Mueller, Eingestellt von Florian. "Australian antitrust authority ACCC publicly states it's 'engaging with overseas regulators' on Microsoft-ActivisionBlizzard while its own investigation remains on hold". Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  55. ^ McLaughlin, David (February 1, 2022). "Microsoft Deal for Activision to Be Reviewed by FTC in U.S." Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  56. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (April 1, 2022). "Senators push for FTC review of Microsoft and Activision's $69B deal". Polygon. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  57. ^ "FTC Seeks to Block Microsoft Corp.'s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc" (Press release). U.S. Federal Trade Commission. December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  58. ^ Zakrzewski, Cat; Liao, Shannon (December 8, 2022). "FTC sues to block Microsoft's acquisition of game giant Activision". Washington Post. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  59. ^ Batchelor, James (December 12, 2022). "Did Microsoft break its promise to the EU about Bethesda exclusives? | For The Record". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  60. ^ "Microsoft calls FTC unconstitutional". GamesIndustry.biz. December 23, 2022.
  61. ^ Purdy, Kevin (January 6, 2023). "Microsoft admits it should not have argued the FTC is unconstitutional". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  62. ^ Scullion, Chris (March 2, 2023). "The FTC has told PlayStation it has to reveal its third-party exclusivity deals". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  63. ^ Fineman, Joshua (September 30, 2022). "Microsoft files planned Activision acquisition with European antitrust regulator". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved September 30, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  64. ^ Tolbert, Samuel (September 30, 2022). "Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is now being checked by European Commission". Windows Central. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  65. ^ Chee, Foo Yun (October 7, 2022). "EU wants to know if Microsoft will block rivals after Activision deal". Reuters. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  66. ^ "EU's Call of Duty: Probe Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal". AP NEWS. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  67. ^ Stolton, Samual (February 3, 2023). "EU issues antitrust warning against Microsoft's $69 billion Activision bid". Politico. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  68. ^ Harrison, Gayle (February 21, 2023). "Microsoft enters 10-year agreement with Nvidia and Nintendo in fight to save Activision deal". CNN. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  69. ^ https://www.eurogamer.net/eu-approves-microsofts-687bn-activision-blizzard-bid.
  70. ^ Coleman, Martin (September 1, 2022). "The CMA is investigating the anticipated acquisition by Microsoft Corporation of Activision Blizzard, Inc". Competition and Markets Authority. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  71. ^ a b O'Brien, Matt; Chan, Kelvin (September 1, 2022). "Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal gets global scrutiny". AP News. Retrieved September 16, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  72. ^ Cryer, Hirun (February 8, 2023). "Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition would result in less competition, UK government rules". GamesRadar. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  73. ^ Nightengale, Ed (March 24, 2023). "Microsoft's Activision Blizzard takeover "will not result in a substantial lessening of competition", says CMA". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  74. ^ Gerken, Tom (May 11, 2023). "UK further restricts Microsoft and Activision merge". BBC. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  75. ^ "UK blocks Microsoft $69 billion Activision deal over cloud gaming concerns". Reuters. April 26, 2023.
  76. ^ Warren, Tom (April 26, 2023). "Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition blocked by UK regulators". The Verge. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  77. ^ https://www.eurogamer.net/uk-mps-grill-regulator-over-microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-block-day-after-eu-grants-approval
  78. ^ Michaels, Dave; Trachtenberg, Jeffrey (March 8, 2022). "U.S. Probes Trade by Barry Diller, David Geffen Before Big Merger". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  79. ^ Browning, Kellen (April 15, 2022). "Activision tells regulators it will cooperate with insider trading investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  80. ^ Stolton, Samuel (October 31, 2022). "EU to launch advanced Microsoft-Activision probe". POLITICO. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  81. ^ D'Angelo, William (December 29, 2022). "Chile Approves Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition". VGChartz. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  82. ^ "China Approves Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Acquisition". MSN. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  83. ^ Editor, Joshua Fineman, SA News (May 19, 2023). "Microsoft's planned $69B Activision purchase gets China antitrust approval - report | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. Retrieved May 19, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  84. ^ Totilo, Stephen (May 4, 2022). "New York City sues Activision, targeting CEO Bobby Kotick". Axios. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  85. ^ Leonard, Mike (November 14, 2022). "Activision's $69 Billion Sale to Microsoft Draws Challenge". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  86. ^ Jackson, Claire (December 20, 2022). "Gamers Are Suing Microsoft To Thwart Its Merger With Activision". Kotaku. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  87. ^ Scarcella, Mike (January 20, 2023). "Microsoft loses bid to pause gamers' lawsuit over Activision deal". Reuters. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  88. ^ Hope Bellingham (March 21, 2023). "The "Gamers Lawsuit" against Microsoft has been dismissed". gamesradar.
  89. ^ Bailey, Dustin (April 11, 2023). "The "Gamer's Lawsuit" against Microsoft is back, and Sony is helping". GamesRadar. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  90. ^ Nightingale, Ed (January 19, 2022). "Activision Blizzard staff react to Microsoft buyout news". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  91. ^ Knoop, Joseph (January 18, 2022). "The Video Game Industry Reacts to Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard King". IGN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  92. ^ "Activision Blizzard workers cautiously optimistic after Microsoft acquisition". Upcomer. January 18, 2022. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  93. ^ Stewart, Ashley. "Leaked messages from Microsoft employees show that the scandals at Activision Blizzard are going to be a huge challenge to their $68 billion merger". Business Insider. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  94. ^ Lawder, David (January 20, 2022). "World Bank chief takes swipe at Microsoft's $69 bln gaming deal as poor countries struggle". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  95. ^ Makuch, Eddit (April 22, 2021). "Call Of Duty Has Now Sold 400 Million Copies To Date". GameSpot. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  96. ^ Young, Georgina (January 21, 2022). "Microsoft confirms its intent to keep 'Call Of Duty' on PlayStation". NME. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  97. ^ Jie, Yang (January 20, 2022). "Sony Expects Microsoft to Keep Activision Games Multiplatform". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  98. ^ Skrebels, Joe (February 9, 2022). "Microsoft Confirms Activision Blizzard Will Release Games on PlayStation 'Beyond Existing Agreements'". IGN. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  99. ^ Scullion, Chris (February 10, 2022). "Microsoft's president says 'we want to bring Call of Duty to Switch'". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  100. ^ Warren, Tom (September 2, 2022). "Microsoft will keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 'several more years' beyond existing deal". The Verge. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  101. ^ Schreier, Jason (January 25, 2022). "Activision's Next Three Call of Duty Games Will Be on PlayStation and Xbox". Bloomberg News. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  102. ^ a b Dring, Christopher (September 7, 2022). "PlayStation: Xbox's Call of Duty offer was "inadequate on many levels"". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  103. ^ Wolens, Joshua (October 21, 2022). "Microsoft says a Sony deal with Activision stops Call of Duty coming to Game Pass". PC Gamer. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  104. ^ McCabe, David; Weise, Karen (November 21, 2022). "Can Big Tech Get Bigger? Microsoft Presses Governments to Say Yes". The New York Times.
  105. ^ Robinson, Andy (November 23, 2022). "Sony claims Microsoft's 'true strategy' is to 'make PlayStation like Nintendo'". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  106. ^ Welsh, Oli (December 7, 2022). "Microsoft signs deal to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo for 10 years". Polygon. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  107. ^ Kuhnke, Oisin (October 27, 2022). "Phil Spencer Says Activision Blizzard Deal Is About Mobile, Not Making Call Of Duty Exclusive". GameSpot. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Daniel_Maak/Proposed2&oldid=1157706194"