Players contend the Microsoft Activision bid represents an attempt by Microsoft to ‘eliminate PlayStation,” in a lawsuit brought forward against it.
Microsoft and Xbox are being accused of trying to “eliminate PlayStation from competition with their $69b Activision deal. A lawsuit alleging such practices has recently been filed in Washington state court.
Microsoft and Activision’s recent partnership has faced several hurdles over recent months. Most prominent among these is that of UK market, which blocked it due to fears that it will hinder competition within gaming industry. Xbox and Activision reportedly plan on exploring ways around it; insiders warn they’re considering pulling Activision Blizzard games entirely out of UK stores as one possible workaround solution; although such action might appear drastic at first, experts caution it may actually be best option available due to limited options between both parties involved.
Once this deal was finalized, Xbox would gain access to Activision Blizzard titles like Call Of Duty and Overwatch games from Activision Blizzard; providing it an unprecedented opportunity to make future titles from these publishers exclusive for Xbox consoles as well as adding even more titles to Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
Now, this deal is coming under scrutiny in the US due to a lawsuit brought forward by ten gamers who believe its completion will create a monopoly in the gaming industry and hurt competitiveness. Although initially dismissed by courts, plaintiffs provided redacted statements from Xbox from 2020 which show their intent was solely focused on eliminating PlayStation.
Evidence presented against Xbox has come in the form of an email written by Xbox Studios director Matt Booty that details Microsoft’s strategy to gain an edge in gaming market competition and “is uncontroverted evidence that Microsoft intended to eliminate its main competition, Sony PlayStation.” Xbox has since responded to this lawsuit saying this internal discussion would have no bearing on final judgement but should remain strictly private.
No one knows for certain whether the Activision Blizzard merger will go through or not; given its unprecedented size and status it’s hard to predict how things may evolve over the coming months. Still, Xbox head Phil Spencer remains “confident” that this deal will proceed and that would be hugely beneficial both to Xbox as an entity as well as gamers on its platform.
