Unlike the Competition & Markets Authority, the British institution responsible for ensuring healthy market competition, the European Commission will ultimately not block the concept of cloud gaming, a nascent market whose free competition the CMA believes would be in danger if an already powerful player such as Microsoft was taking ownership of the influential licenses from Activision Blizzard. The main difference between the CMA and the European Commission is that the latter has accepted the commitments (or concessions) offered by Microsoft for a period of 10 years.
These commitments consist of allowing players in the European Economic Area to be able to access all current and future Activision Blizzard games “ on the cloud game streaming service of their choice “, as long as they have purchased the game or have access to it by subscription. At the same time, Microsoft is committed to distributing a free license to gaming service providers who want to offer Activision Blizzard games on their platform.
« These commitments fully address the competition concerns raised by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud game streaming compared to the current situation. They will allow millions of consumers in the European Economic Area to stream Activision games using any cloud gaming service in the European Economic Area, as long as those games are purchased from a store. online or are included in an active multi-game subscription in the European Economic Area “says the Commission.
« The European Commission has asked Microsoft to automatically license competing cloud gaming services for popular Activision Blizzard games. This measure will apply globally and will allow millions of consumers around the world to play these games on the device of their choice. », confirmed Brad Smith, President of Microsoft. Clearly, Microsoft will not be able to keep Activision Blizzard games for the sole benefit of its own ecosystem. At least not for 10 years.
The European Commission is not worried about Sony
It is also in this state of mind that Microsoft had signed with Nintendo to promise the release of Call of Duty games on the Japanese brand’s consoles for a period of at least 10 years, ensuring that the content of the games is identical on all platforms. The same offer was made to Sony Interactive Entertainment, but Microsoft’s closest rival has never ceased to show its disagreement with this acquisition project and has therefore not signed anything as things stand.
The European Commission does not share SIE’s anxieties and considers that Microsoft ” would have no reason to refuse to distribute Activision’s games on PlayStation. And even if Microsoft were to decide one day to deprive PlayStation consoles of Activision licenses, such a move would not be enough to significantly harm competition in the console market. The Commission relies in particular on the fact that the console fleet in Europe is clearly in favor of the Japanese manufacturer.
« Microsoft would have no interest in refusing to distribute Activision games to Sony, which is the world’s leading distributor of console games, including in the European Economic Area, where for every Microsoft Xbox console purchased, four consoles are Sony PlayStation that are purchased by gamers. Indeed, Microsoft would have a strong interest in distributing Activision games on a console as popular as Sony’s PlayStation. »
« Even if Microsoft decided to remove Activision’s games from the PlayStation, it would not seriously harm competition in the console market. adds the report, observing that the Call of Duty franchise is “ less popular in Europe than in other regions of the world and that Sony could leverage its size, extensive games catalog and market position to counter any attempt to weaken its competitive position. »
« Video games attract billions of users worldwide. In such a dynamic and rapidly changing sector, it is essential to protect competition and innovation. Our decision is an important step in that direction, making popular Activision games available to many more devices and consumers than ever before through cloud game streaming. Microsoft’s proposed commitments will enable streaming of these games by any cloud game streaming service for the first time, increasing competition and growth opportunities commented Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President for Competition Policy.
For the CMA, it’s still no
A vision that the CMA definitely does not share, which still categorically refuses to let Microsoft take such an advantage in the emerging field of cloud gaming, of which the regulatory authority estimates that Microsoft already holds around 60 to 70% of the world share. In the wake of the European Commission’s verdict, the CMA therefore reaffirmed its position on Twitter.
« Microsoft’s proposals, accepted today by the European Commission, would enable it to set the terms of this market for the next ten years. They would replace a free, open and competitive marketplace with one subject to ongoing regulation of the games Microsoft sells, the platforms it sells them to, and the terms of sale. While we acknowledge and respect that the European Commission has the right to take a different view, the CMA stands by its decision. »
Remember that the CMA, against which Microsoft hopes to win the appeal, is not the only obstacle that the team of Phil Spencer must still overcome. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Microsoft’s deal with Activision Blizzard. A first hearing is scheduled for August 2 and no verdict will be pronounced for probably many months.
- Also Read | CMA rejects acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft announces appeal
