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After Meta’s Giphy acquisition, the European Commission announced on Tuesday that it has opened an “in-depth investigation” into Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7B.
The Commission has concerns that the proposed acquisition may reduce competition in the markets for the distribution of console and personal computers (‘PCs’) video games and PC operating systems.
The Commission has set a deadline of 90 working days, until 23 March 2023, to make a decision.
The investigation
The Commission’s preliminary investigation suggests that Microsoft has the ability to foreclose rivals in the console video game market by preventing them from distributing Activision Blizzard’s games on their consoles.