Microsoft has stated that it expects the acquisition of Activision to be completed by June, but the judgements that will be issued by various regulatory bodies such as the CMA and the European Commission must still be verified, as the FTC has already publicly sided for the business interruption.
Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision-Blizzard, claims that the various antitrust organizations considering the settlement don't know enough about the gaming industry and its evolution in recent years, which has led it to grant more space to mobile manufacturing.
"Over the past ten years, the business has evolved to focus primarily on smartphones, which are much more accessible," Kotick told CNBC. "So I believe people will continue to play, mostly free games, and the question is how much premium content they will consume, and I don't believe they really understand it."
Kotick believes regulators reviewing the transaction have neglected to identify the issue and are somewhat "confused" about who is competing with whom in the gaming industry: "You look at Sony, you look at Nintendo, they all have protected markets." The best companies in the world right now are companies like Tencent and ByteDance, and they all have protected markets.
Jeremy Hunt, the UK's exchequer leader, declared his country would be the "new Silicon Valley of the world." But blocking the transaction might have the opposite effect, according to Kotick: "If you're in the UK and you have an incredible educated workforce, lots of technical talent, places like Cambridge where the best AI and machines are learning, you will accept a transaction like this where everyone will see the creation of jobs and opportunities."
