Google and Nvidia are against Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard buyout says new report-Michael Beckwith-Entertainment – Metro

The deal was meant to wrap up by the summer but it looks like that won’t be the case (pic: Microsoft)

Ahead of the FTC’s lawsuit in August, Google and Nvidia have reportedly shared their own issues with a Microsoft owned Activision.

While Sony has very loudly aired its displeasure with Microsoft’s efforts to buy Activision Blizzard and its franchises, most companies have otherwise kept their opinions to themselves.

There are exceptions, such as EA, which thinks its Battlefield series would benefit from an Xbox only Call Of Duty, and Take-Two with its CEO believing the buy-out will benefit the industry as a whole. According to leaked documents from the Brazilian investigation into the acquisition most other publishers simply don’t care, painting Sony very much as the outlier.

However, it’s now believed that Google and Nvidia have issues with Microsoft’s plans and have even shared them with US regulator the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Much like how Sony argues that Microsoft owning Activision would give it an unfair advantage in the console space, Google and Nvidia apparently think the same can be said for the mobile gaming, cloud gaming, and subscription markets.

The FTC already has strong reservations about the deal. In fact, it’s outright filed a lawsuit to prevent it from happening, labelling it as anti-competitive.

People familiar with the matter shared this information with Bloomberg, requesting they be left anonymous due to the process being confidential.

Interestingly, while Nvidia did stress the need for and importance of equal access to games, it didn’t necessarily oppose Microsoft’s deal.

Aside from manufacturing graphics cards, Nvidia has its own streaming service for video games called GeForce Now.

One concern regarding the deal is that Microsoft could lock Activision titles to its Xbox Game Pass. So, games like Call Of Duty could never be available on GeForce Now or other such services.

A previous report says that Microsoft has offered to put Call Of Duty games on PlayStation Plus as part of a set of concessions to get the deal through. There’s no telling, though, if it would make or has made similar offers elsewhere.

Stadia only lasted three years (pic: Google)

Google’s efforts to break into the cloud gaming and subscription markets have already ended in failure. Google Stadia is poised to shut down next week, on January 18.

However, it does operate the Google Play store for Android devices and with Microsoft making its own mobile store for Xbox games – which it admitted to in filings to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority – Google likely sees the possibility of a Microsoft storefront with exclusive access to Activision games a threat.

Microsoft even said in those filings, ‘Shifting consumers away from the Google Play Store and App Store on mobile devices will, however, require a major shift in consumer behaviour. Microsoft hopes that by offering well-known and popular content, gamers will be more inclined to try something new.’

The Xbox company has also claimed that its main motivation for the buy-out is not Call Of Duty, but to help bolster its mobile offerings.

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A trial for the FTC’s lawsuit is scheduled for August, and Google and Nvidia’s comments will no doubt serve as evidence for the FTC’s case.

What’ll most likely happen is the deal will be approved, regardless, but with several concessions like the aforementioned PS Plus offer. Microsoft has been eager to appear as generous as possible, even vowing to put Call Of Duty on Nintendo Switch.

However, the plan was to have the deal finalised by the summer of 2023. If this lawsuit drags on for long enough, there is the possibility that Microsoft and/or Activision could decide all the money being spent isn’t worth the hassle and drop the deal altogether.

Is it even worth it at this point? (pic: Activison)

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