The decision of rejection from the British Competition Authority was the acquisition of Microsoft Activision Blizzard Shocking to everyone.. but the biggest surprise was about the reason for this unexpected rejection, which centered on “cloud play” and this is what we will delve into deeply through this article in an attempt to understand the motive behind the CMA’s rejection of the largest acquisition deal in history.
Imminent transformation!
First, we have to know that the era of cloud gaming is inevitably coming by 99%. We may not understand this shift now, but companies are well aware of it and the average consumer ignores it. To the extent that companies unrelated to the industry are racing against it, such as Google with the former Stadia service, or Amazon with the Amazon Luna service and many examples..and not only companies, but also extended to individuals..as you will find many cloud gaming applications on mobile that you have not heard of. before.
Everyone wants to make their mark ahead of the impending transformation
And since trade relies on exploiting opportunities, trying to put your mark from now on guarantees you a ticket to enter the industry before it is swept away by an old company in the field and closes the door to competition .. Therefore, losses in this case are just a “criterion” by which the extent of the viability of entering this market is measured and is not considered a real failure.
Models such as Stadia do not consider their failure to be a shocking matter.. Rather, the failure was within their accounts before entering a new market for Google, and they did not come out of it empty-handed, as they gained experience through which they may harness in the future to improve gaming experiences in their services such as Youtube and also open a new door for them. Creative ideas that may benefit them profit!
Unexpected scenario!
Cloud transformation also means sweeping companies we never imagined entering this market, such as SpaceX.. Yes! What you do not imagine may happen, fThe billionaire Elon Musk’s empire, “SpaceX”, may begin to impose its control over the gaming industry and change its rules with the “Starlink” service by providing Internet solutions via satellite, and this would expand the reach of cloud services to various parts of the earth, and the integration of its services with cloud gaming services companies and control over Increase its cost, and a lot of unexpected possibilities.
You can imagine, dear reader, the number of companies that are planning in secret for this imminent transformation, waiting for the decisive moment to begin to reveal their fangs in a “cloud” era that will extend to hundreds of years!
Xbox Game pass plan and the future of the Xbox brand and home consoles
We have always promised Sony to race with the future in its vision to provide the most innovative ideas and technologies, which always puts it at the forefront of competition.. This is what Microsoft learned recently, so instead of focusing on the present only, the technology giant directed its vision towards the Xbox brand to a brighter future. Who is present.. but he is definitely assigned.
Microsoft has put its full focus on moving the Xbox brand to the cloud orientation through the Game pass service, and this was also stated by “Phil Spencer” and alluded to on many occasions .. that the Xbox has become a competitor to the future!
This is by making it accessible for Game Pass services on all smart devices, and recently, in mid-2022, the service was launched via Smart TV screens! It did not stop here.. but reached the availability of the service through the browser as well!
What does Microsoft intend to achieve?
Netflix! Yes, the Netflix trend is the future of the Xbox brand! To be accessible to all segments of society, and to achieve this goal, Microsoft made the Xbox Game pass the cornerstone and intensified efforts around it by acquiring long-standing studios and bringing their exclusives from day one to its service to enhance its position, while bearing the resulting losses in principle to deal the final blow!
Wouldn’t that cost her a lot?
certainly! But what you will reap from the fruits of this sacrifice multiply. Microsoft is considered one of the largest companies by market value, so the ambition of such a company will not be an ordinary ambition.. This is what we conclude from the allocation of huge capital amounting to 70 billion dollars.. This only indicates the size of the returns that will be reaped from the success of this scheme in the long term..
malicious scheme?
Bringing games to the Game Pass service sets an important criterion, which is to include them in the cloud service “Xbox Cloud Gaming”.
Microsoft always says that the acquisition of gaming companies does not mean that it will “limit” its games to its platform only. But the biggest question is that Microsoft has never talked about making these games available on cloud services other than “Xbox Cloud Gaming”.
Microsoft intends to restrict games to its cloud platform only!
The effectiveness of this plan will only succeed in an era dominated by cloud gaming, and I do not mean any transformation.. but rather a complete shift of millions of players to “cloud gaming” and abandoning home platforms and the PC. This is what the Xbox brand is trying to realize from now on, even with a lot of sacrifices.. as well as leaving room for this inevitable market to be swept by a big brand like Playstation.
Are you beginning to realize, dear reader, the position of the CMA on rejection?
The decision of the British Competition Authority (CMA) to reject the acquisition of Activision
The British Competition Authority realized that the era of cloud gaming is inevitably coming in the near future, and realized that the one who controls the direction of this era will have the upper hand.. Accordingly, it presented the most logical reason for rejecting the acquisition of Activision.. which is that these games will be limited to its cloud services. Just.
But let’s go back a little bit when Microsoft announced, surprisingly, during the study of the CMA of the acquisition deal, by contracting with Nvidia to bring the Game Pass service on its cloud platform, “Geforce Now”! There is no doubt that the synchronization of the timing of this deal is suspicious, and there is also no doubt that we were all deceived by this deal that Microsoft made its addresses available on a cloud service other than “Xbox Cloud Gaming”!
But in reality, the Geforce Now service is only a “transit” platform and is not independent. It requires you to purchase the game on another platform such as Steam, and then link your account with the service in order to broadcast the game only. Bringing the game pass to the Geforce Now service also follows the same approach.
Of course, the CMA smartly realized this malicious scenario, and we were surprised shortly thereafter by the decision to reject the deal!
What is the extent of the damage from the deal?
As soon as the complete cloud transformation begins and home platforms lose their value.. until Game Pass rises to the top with a huge arsenal of acquired studio exclusives, backed by Microsoft’s long-standing experience in the technical and cloud field to provide an unrivaled cloud gaming service!
The damage to the success of this plan may categorically kill the competition.. and a service such as Playstation Plus will no longer be able to compete in an era dominated by cloud services. This is often what the CMA concluded from the Activision acquisition deal.
Do you see the position of the CMA is really in the interest of the client? Share your opinion..
