Yesterday, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority ruled against Xbox’s proposed purchase of Activision Blizzard. The regulating body had signaled earlier this month that Microsoft had satisfied its concerns over the possibility Call of Duty could be pulled away from PlayStation. However, the CMA still ended up deciding against the deal, citing concerns over a “substantial lessening of competition” in regards to cloud gaming. Despite this argument, multiple cloud gaming platforms have since come out against the decision. Notably, Nvidia argued that GeForce NOW would actually stand to benefit if the deal were to go though.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“GeForce NOW and other cloud gaming providers stand to gain an even deeper catalog of games if Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision is completed,” Nvidia wrote on Twitter. “We see this as a benefit to cloud gaming and hope for a positive resolution.”
Nvidia is not the only company speaking out. Cloud gaming platform Boosteroid also shared its unhappiness with the ruling, and its belief that it would be beneficial overall to its customers.
“Boosteroid team and our users disagree with the CMA’s decision against Microsoft’s purchase of Activision. Our position on this issue is in line with that of Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith,” the company wrote on Twitter. “We hope for a quick resolution to this question.”
Microsoft has entered agreements with both Nvidia and Boosteroid that would guarantee the Call of Duty franchise on both of their platforms for 10 years, should the deal pass. If Microsoft is prevented from purchasing Activision Blizzard, neither contract would matter, and Activision Blizzard (or the company that does purchase it) would have no incentive to go through with those deals. Essentially, the CMA is arguing that by blocking the deal, it’s benefitting these companies, as they’re simultaneously arguing that isn’t the case! It will be interesting to see if these arguments are taken into consideration, or if this is a case where the CMA simply assumes it knows better.
Do you think Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard will gothrough? Do you think the CMA’s decision makes sense? Let usknow inthecomments orshare yourthoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
