The CMA, the British competition and market surveillance agency, has published statements from six development studios that support Microsoft's acquisition of Activision.
Nevertheless, only one of the developers was identified. It's 4J Studios, the Scottish company responsible for Minecraft's console versions.
4J's chairman and co-founder, believes the business was in a unique position to work not only with Microsoft, but also with Mojang before Microsoft's acquisition.
Microsoft has respected every element of the agreements during this time, as have many other content extensions, according to van der Kuyl.
Is there no negative impact on consumers?
“We believe that consumer preferences and desires in video games span a wide spectrum of games and a wide variety of genres and platforms,” according to another studio.
In the interactive entertainment industry, no title is believed to be a "must have."
"We do not believe the proposed transaction will have a detrimental effect on consumers," said the group.
Another response to the UK's competition and markets regulator came from an indie developer who claims to have worked with several major game publishers, including Sony, Microsoft, and Activision. He believes that Microsoft has fulfilled all agreements and commitments over the 25 years that they have been in contact with each other.
Would UK customers be better served if they were bought by Tencent instead if Microsoft were prohibited from buying Activision? The anonymous CEO believes Tencent would be less subject to Western restrictions if the publisher were acquired.
The fourth statement goes in a similar direction. It comes from a AAA developer and publisher, who stated that due to the situation's "complexity," it is "difficult [die] to predict the exact "impact" of the acquisition.
“However, we do not anticipate any significant impacts of the merger on our company or the distribution of our own products.”
On the PlayStation, a developer feels depressed.
The fifth participant in the survey complained that the PlayStation consoles' own games are perceived as being less effective. "We've discovered that our sales have decreased with each release," the company said.
According to the studio's assessment, the PlayStation has the largest player numbers and console sales, but that share "primarily goes to larger titles from major publishing labels and/or developers and publishers who are willing to pay big bucks to... market paid marketing within the PlayStation console."
"The acquisition will not suddenly make Xbox the dominant platform." It's far more likely to help level the playing field between Xbox and PlayStation, which is vital at this stage," says the studio.
PlayStation therefore needs "better competition to push the platform," and the acquisition of Activision Blizzard "certainly will help."
Microsoft provided the Xbox manufacturer's work in the morning for the headlines, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The company has refused to release crucial records related to the regulator's decision.
Microsoft has issued a new statement.
Microsoft sent a second letter to the Consumer Product Market Authority, accusing Sony of attempting to protect its "dominant market position."
"Microsoft is poised, as it has been since the very beginning, to reach an agreement with Sony to ensure CoD remains on PlayStation." However, unlike Nintendo and NVIDIA, Sony has refused to enter an agreement with Microsoft, instead requesting that the merger be banned.
Sony has installed and sold more than twice as many consoles as Microsoft has sold across the globe. Sony's position must be seen for what it is: a self-serving effort to maintain its dominance, and not one based on legitimate concerns about its continued access to CoD, which it might have obtained months ago.
More information on the topic:
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be completed this year, according to Microsoft's intentions. In the next months, we'll reveal what concessions will be required.
More information on Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, and Sony
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