European Union: Announced Commission investigation into Microsoft/Activision merger

On 8 November 2022, the European Commission (EC) announced that it is opening an in-depth investigation into Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The EC was notified of the planned merger on 30 September 2022 and will have 90 working days, until 23 March 2022, to issue an official decision. Activision Blizzard and Microsoft are both developers and publishers of online games. Based on its preliminary investigation, the Commission stated that the merger could negatively impact competition in the online game distribution and subscription markets and reduce the suppliers of PC operating systems. Furthermore, the EC claimed that if Microsoft were to acquire Activision Blizzard, Microsoft would have the ability to block access to Activision Blizzard's games and consoles. Finally, the EC stated that Microsoft could strategically block and promote certain games and services to reduce its competitor's market share.