Although the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for Microsoft is important, Xbox head Phil Spencer (Phil Spencer) said it is “not the long-term key”.
Microsoft’s plan to buy Activision Blizzard has come under a series of regulatory reviews. Since the deal was announced more than a year ago, regulators in several countries have expressed concern about the deal, as the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are all looking at the deal.
Spencer, CEO of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming business, recently spoke with The Times about their process of trying to get the deal approved.
Spencer said he first met with the CMA in London and then traveled to Brussels to talk to the European Commission regulator. “This is an important acquisition for us. But it’s not critical in the long run — even if this deal doesn’t go through, Xbox will still be there.”
This statement is the key conclusion from Spencer’s conversation. While Microsoft thinks the deal is important and has spent months, if not a year, getting it approved by countries, the company doesn’t see it as the ultimate goal for Xbox games.
It may not be clear why he’s saying this, as there are many so-called industry experts who believe that Microsoft will sell Xbox after the acquisition is blocked. I know many industry experts insist that if a deal is ultimately blocked, there is a real possibility that Microsoft will sell Xbox (and I still hope it goes through).”
In addition, Spencer shared his confusion about how some regulators view Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
“Competition is what helps us on the road to becoming stronger ….. I don’t have a good reason why better competition is somehow bad for consumers,” he said.
“Because for me, it’s important to let us, Sony and Nintendo do well in the console market — all of us with unique strengths, content and capabilities — and thereby give consumers more choices. I don’t want to see the console market relegated to the days of cell phones with only two manufacturers. And right now, we’re three great competitors.”
The Microsoft Games CEO also explained that the gaming industry is new territory for many regulators.
“For most of my time working for Xbox, I’ve been dealing with government regulators who really lack understanding of the gaming industry,” he said. “I appreciated the time I spent with them, and in some cases helping to educate them. I think for many regulators, it’s the first time they’ve looked at the industry.”
Microsoft has made several efforts to convince regulators to approve the deal, including signing an agreement to allow Call of Duty to exist on Sony’s PS platform for at least 10 years. In addition, Microsoft has agreed to open up more Xbox games on NVIDIA GeForce NOW.
