The gaming industry is changing by leaps and bounds. With more and more people getting into gaming and with the metaverse upon us, there appears to be no ceiling anywhere in sight.
As evidence of my point, look no further than two recent gaming acquisitions that rank at historical levels. As they say, always follow the money. Such a trail tells us everything we need to know.
Microsoft Acquires Blizzard
Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard for $69.7 billion. That’s insane. If the deal goes through (we’ll explain in a bit) that means Microsoft will soon be the gatekeepers of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Diablo, and Overwatch. Those are just a handful of the most influential games in the industry.
Microsoft eased gamer fears when it said it will continue releasing these games for Playstation.
However, the FTC isn’t thrilled with this acquisition and is now looking into the details. According to a report from Bloomberg, wants to review the deal for potential monopoly infractions. For Microsoft, the FTC review is concerning given that the FTC has noted it will take aggressive stances on big tech and potential monopolies. The FTC wants to make sure that the gaming landscape remains competitive. FTC Chair Lina Khan, for all intents and purposes, is most likely looking to prove she’s not all talk in these matters.
The problem, however, resides in a lack of precedence as well as tech illiteracy over such matters. Big tech is a new landscape for the FTC. There isn’t much governing history to go on.
In the case of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, the monopoly aspect relates to Microsoft’s gaming platforms and Activision Blizzards popular games. Microsoft could cut out a ton of gaming platforms, hence the monopoly part in all this. This is most likely why Microsoft already got out ahead of the situation by stating it will continue to develop for Sony Playstation.