A CMA investigation has provisionally concluded that Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision could result in higher prices, 更少的选择, 或者对英国玩家来说缺乏创新.
The provisional findings from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) follow a wide-ranging investigation conducted over the last five months to understand the market and potential impact of the deal. This has included holding site visits and hearings to hear directly from business leaders at Microsoft and Activision, analysing over 3 million internal documents from the two businesses to understand their views on the market, 委托对英国游戏玩家进行独立调查, and gathering evidence from a range of other gaming console providers, 游戏发行商, 以及云游戏服务提供商.
云游戏服务供应的竞争
The CMA provisionally found that being able to offer popular games will be important for cloud gaming providers to attract users as the market continues to grow and develop. CMA可获得的证据 currently indicates that Microsoft would find it commercially beneficial to make Activision’s games exclusive to its own cloud gaming service (or only available on other services under materially worse conditions). Microsoft already accounts for an estimated 60-70% of global cloud gaming services and also has other important strengths in cloud gaming from owning Xbox, the leading PC operating system (Windows) and a global cloud computing infrastructure (Azure and Xbox Cloud Gaming).
The CMA provisionally found that buying one of the world’s most important 游戏发行商 would reinforce this strong position and substantially reduce the competition that Microsoft would otherwise face in the cloud gaming market in the UK. 这可能会改变游戏的未来, 可能伤害英国游戏玩家, particularly those who cannot afford or do not want to buy an expensive gaming console or gaming PC.
游戏机供应方面的竞争
CMA暂时发现少数关键游戏, 包括《十大正规博彩网站评级》, 动视的旗舰游戏, 在推动主机之间的竞争中发挥重要作用. CMA可获得的证据, including data on how Microsoft measures the value of customers in the ordinary course of business, currently indicates that Microsoft would find it commercially beneficial to make Activision’s games exclusive to its own consoles (or only available on PlayStation under materially worse conditions). CMA的临时调查结果指出，这种策略, of buying gaming studios and making their content exclusive to Microsoft’s platforms, has been used by Microsoft following several previous acquisitions of games studios.
The CMA provisionally found that weakening competition by restricting the access that other platforms have to Activision’s games could substantially reduce the competition between Xbox and PlayStation in the UK, 这反过来又伤害了英国的游戏玩家.
Xbox and PlayStation compete closely with each other at present and access to the most important content, 如鳕鱼, 是竞争的重要组成部分吗. Reducing this competition between Microsoft and Sony could result in all gamers seeing higher prices, 降低范围, 低质量, 随着时间的推移，游戏机的服务也越来越差.
马丁·科尔曼, chair of the independent panel of experts conducting this Phase 2 investigation, 说:
据估计，英国约有4500万游戏玩家, and people in the UK spend more on gaming than any other form of entertainment including 音乐, 电影, TV, 和书籍. Strong competition between Xbox and PlayStation has defined the console gaming market over the last 20 years. Exciting new developments in cloud gaming are giving gamers even more choice.
Our job is to make sure that UK gamers are not caught in the crossfire of global deals that, 随着时间的推移, 会损害竞争并导致价格上涨吗, 更少的选择, 或者更少的创新. 我们暂时发现这里可能就是这种情况.
We have also today sent the companies an explanation of how our concerns might be resolved, inviting their views and any alternative proposals they wish to submit.
今天临时调查结果的背景
微软进入了68美元.70亿美元收购动视公司, 世界上最受欢迎的电子游戏发行商之一, 2022年1月. 这笔交易是历史上最大的视频游戏收购, as well as being the largest acquisition that Microsoft has ever made.
游戏是英国最大的娱乐形式, 消费者花在游戏上的钱比付费电视还多, 流媒体视频, 电影, 音乐, 或者书籍. 2022年，英国在游戏上的支出约为50亿英镑. 掌机和pc上有成千上万的游戏可供选择, but gamers spend much of their time and money on a handful of so-called ‘AAA’ games. Activision owns CoD, which is well established as one of the leading AAA games in the industry.
2022年9月, the CMA launched an in-depth investigation into the deal led by an independent panel of experts. The investigation is being conducted alongside similar probes in the US and the EU, 以及其他一些国际司法管辖区.
The CMA welcomes responses from interested parties to its provisional findings by 1 March 2023 and its notice of possible remedies, which sets out potential options for addressing its provisional concerns, 2023年2月22日. These will be considered ahead of the CMA issuing its final report, which is due by 26 April 2023.
更多信息，请访问 微软/动视查询页面.
