Microsoft møder lige nu skarp juridiske opposition i både England, USA og måske snart EU i forhold til deres planlagte køb af Activision Blizzard, og et af de argumenter modstandere af handlen benytter, er at den ikke er i spilbranchens bedste interesse.
Det er en meget, meget bred sammenslutning af europæiske spiludviklere og spiludgivere dog uenige i. European Games Developer Federation, eller EGDF, består af folk fra over 2500 spilstudier, og er over 40,000 medlemmer. De siger i en officiel meddelelse, at de støtter handlen, hvis Microsoft holder sig til de kompromisser der bliver dem pålagt.
Vi har indsat hele den officiel meddelelse herunder:
Microsoft is a significant player in the games market, and thus Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion in early 2022 is being reviewed by various competition authorities around the world. EGDF acknowledges that Microsoft has the ability for anti-competitive market behaviour and has not in the past consistently respected assurances it has given to continue making games published by companies that it has acquired available on rival platforms. EGDF, therefore, welcomes the European Commission's in-depth investigation of competition concerns arising from Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition.
EGDF supports Microsoft's ActivisionBlizzard acquisition, as its potential positive impacts on the competition in game markets, in general, outweigh the limited console and subscription market-specific competition concerns. Furthermore, in the console game markets, Sony is a clear market leader with its Playstation platform, and Microsoft is still in a challenger position.
Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition strengthens the competition benefits for global game markets. EGDF supports fair and sustainable competition in game markets. In particular, EGDF has been concerned about the recent consolidation of the global games industry. The more there are equally strong competing market players, the better for European game developers
The Commission should widen its perspective from console market sector-specific competition concerns to evaluating the impact of the acquisition to game markets in general:
Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition allows it to challenge Apple and Google as dominant mobile game market application stores. Microsoft has been among the first to announce that it will fully explore the competition-enhancing market possibilities of the recently approved Digital Markets Act (DMA) by launching its own independent application stores on both Apple's and Google's platforms. Consequently, Microsoft is paving the way also for European game industry SMEs that do not have sufficient financial resources for the upcoming legal fight to defend their new rights against Apple and Google.
The acquisition gives Microsoft the means to challenge Apple in emerging cloud gaming / game subscription service markets. Microsoft is the first gatekeeper platform to build a successful cross-platform cloud gaming/subscription ecosystem. After Google killed its own subscription service, Stadia, it is crucial to have a strong competitor in the markets challenging Apple's market position.
The acquisition enables Microsoft to challenge Tencent as the world's leading global game developer and publisher. In recent years Chinese Tencent has invested aggressively in game developer studios and publishers across the globe, and it is currently the biggest game developer and publisher on the planet. Having a strong counterforce for Tencent's influence on the game markets is crucial.
Microsoft must continue supporting fair and balanced competition in game markets.EGDF welcomes Microsoft Open Appstore Principles that proactively fulfil many of the requirements set by the upcoming Digital Markets Act for Microsoft as a gatekeeper platform.
EGDF calls Microsoft to continue its efforts to support competition in the markets by: