In January 2022, Microsoft announced that it plans to acquire game studio Activision Blizzard. The historically large purchase is estimated at USD 69 billion, corresponding to just over SEK 700 billion.

But the deal has been met with criticism from both competition authorities and players.

Less competition

Microsoft, which owns the Xbox game console, has been feared to get exclusive rights to Activision Blizzard's popular game titles such as "Call of duty", "World of warcraft" and "Candy crush". Which can make the games more difficult to access for those who play on, for example, PC or Sony Playstation.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opposed the deal. They argue that it could distort competition and give Microsoft too dominant a position in the gaming market. The EU and UK competition authorities also initially wanted to stop the deal.

"There will be less competition, prices will be pushed up and the quality of the games may deteriorate. It is becoming bigger and bigger gaming companies and many talk about it being able to inhibit creativity. These big dragons have a tendency to play with safe cards, says Fredrik Eriksson, editor of the game site FZ, in Morgonstudion.

At the same time, some believe that Microsoft's purchase of Blizzard could be good for competition.

"People usually talk about the three big giants, Microsoft, Sony Playstation and Nintendo. Microsoft is now in a clear third place. When they buy this, many believe that it can benefit competition.

The European Commission approves

The announcement that Microsoft will let Sony keep Blizzard's cash cow, the video game "Call of duty" on PlayStation, can be seen as a sign of compromise and that the deal will go through, according to a post on FZ.

The European Commission has also given the go-ahead for the purchase. What remains is the UK's competition and markets authority CMA, which has said it is willing to look at adjustments to the business arrangement.

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In the clip, game journalist Elisabeth Bergqvist answers three questions about the criticism of the procurement. Photo: SVT, TT