More details about the decision to halt Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard have recently been revealed from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recent report. Along with a comprehensive examination of Microsoft’s current business practices and plans.
The decision is detailed in The 400-page reportwhich provided a very comprehensive and detailed overview of Microsoft’s current business plans and how they will impact competitors, and the CMA panel highlighted its belief that Xbox Game Pass will see a rise in value following potential additions from Activision Blizzard’s library, which will give Microsoft an incentive to raise the price.
The CMA explained that adding new games to Microsoft’s library wasn’t the issue, but rather how the presence of Activision games specifically – such as Call of Duty – would affect the catalog.
“We expect Microsoft to have an incentive to increase the price of Game Pass commensurate with the value enhancement to add valuable Activision content to it, and we found that even a modest price increase would significantly reduce or eliminate any customer benefits,” the commission said.
The statement went on to explain that the expanded integration of Game Pass would not only lead to a higher priced service for consumers, but would also give Xbox a more significant advantage over companies like Sony and Nintendo, both of which do not have services as broad as Game Pass and other products.
