Boosteroid, a cloud gaming platform, criticized the CMA's decision to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Earlier today, the CMA announced that it's preventing Microsoft from purchasing Activision Blizzard "to protect innovation and choice in cloud gaming."
Microsoft announced its intention of buying Activision Blizzard in January 2022 for $68.7 billion. The announcement has drawn international attention and concern, wishing to examine whether such a deal could cause harm in the video game sector. The Competition and Markets Authority of the United Kingdom started its investigation into the deal in September 2022, and in February 2023, it provisionally found that the acquisition could stifle competition in cloud gaming. Microsoft submitted a proposal to address the concerns brought up by the CMA, but later the decision was made that these suggestions would rather regulate the behavior of the businesses involved in the 10-year deal, and would make them act against their commercial needs. Therefore, the CMA found the attempted mitigation to be insufficient.
Boosteroid, one of the cloud gaming platforms that Microsoft signed a 10-year deal with, voiced its support towards Microsoft on Twitter. The company stated that it disagrees with the CMA's decision, both on its and its user's behalf. It has also added that Boosteroid's position "is in line with that of Microsoft's president, Brad Smith." The company also expressed hope for a quick resolution with regard to the problem. Back in the middle of March, Boosteroid announced its deal with Microsoft, which consisted of a 10-year agreement to bring Xbox games to the cloud gaming platform. Boosteroid recently surpassed 4 million users, which makes it the largest independent cloud gaming provider in the world. According to Boosteroid, the deal would mean 150 million additional players for Call of Duty if the acquisition of Activision Blizzard were to go through.
The CMA also took into consideration whether Activision Blizzard games being added to Xbox Game Pass would outweigh the harm it could cause to competition. According to the CMA, this wouldn't be the case as the panel of experts predicted Microsoft would raise the price of Xbox Game Pass to compensate for all the additional content being added. Martin Coleman, chair of the independent panel of experts said: "Microsoft already enjoys a powerful position and head start over other competitors in cloud gaming and this deal would strengthen that advantage giving it the ability to undermine new and innovative competitors."
Whether the CMA takes into consideration the position of Boosteroid on the matter remains to be seen. The CMA's decision will also likely affect how other regulatory agencies will view the Microsoft Activision Blizzard deal.
Source: Gov.uk