Microsoft: Microsoft says it will defend Activision deal on February 21 – Times of India

Microsoft has said that it will make a last-ditch effort to convince the EU antitrust officials on its $69 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, the video game company which makes “Call of Duty“, at a closed hearing on February 21.
As per a report by news agency Reuters, the US software company asked for the hearing after receiving a statement of objections from the European Commission. The statement of objections warned about the possible anti-competitive effects of the deal.
Earlier, Microsoft said that it was working with the regulators to address any concerns. “We’re continuing to work with the European Commission to address any marketplace concerns. Our goal is to bring more games to more people, and this deal will further that goal,” Microsoft was quoted as saying.

Microsoft-Activision deal could harm gamers
Last week, Britain’s antitrust regulator said that an in-depth probe found that Xbox maker Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard has raised competition concerns about cloud and console gaming. Similar concerns were raised by the US Federal Trade Commission saying that Microsoft had a record of hoarding valuable gaming content.
However, Microsoft reached a 10-year deal with Nintendo to make “Call of Duty” available on Nintendo consoles, a move aimed at convincing competition enforcers. The company also said it also offered a similar deal to Sony, which is the “loudest objector” of the deal.
The company said it wanted the deal to help it compete with leaders in the gaming industry, Tencent and PlayStation owner Sony. Without Activision and its variety of games across mobile, consoles and PCs, Microsoft could struggle to attract users to its platform.

Deal will lead to innovation: Microsoft
Last year, Microsoft president Brad Smith said that acquiring Activision Blizzard would enable Microsoft to compete against these companies through innovation that would benefit consumers.
He also noted that the company wants to offer consumers an option to subscribe to a cloud gaming service “that lets them stream a variety of games on multiple devices for one reasonable fee. It would also benefit developers by allowing them to reach a much broader audience.”