The European Commission will, as predicted, conduct a thorough probe of Microsoft’s $69 billion proposal to acquire Activision Blizzard. Following a preliminary investigation, the European Commission said Tuesday (via Reuters) that it thinks the merger would “seriously decrease competition” in a few sectors, including the PC and console gaming marketplaces, as well as cloud gaming services.
According to antitrust experts at the Commission, Microsoft may have a financial motive to restrict rivals from obtaining Activision Blizzard’s “high-profile and highly popular games,” including new Call of Duty entries. The organisation is also worried that the agreement would unfairly favour Windows over alternative PC operating systems. On the surface, this seems to be an odd issue, but it’s worth noting that the popularity of devices like the Steam Deck has made Linux a viable gaming option for Windows.
