The Microsoft-Activision deal has already seen a great deal of pushback from regulatory authorities in Europe, the USA, and the UK. However, Sony has been the only vocal rival to speak up against this deal, whereas others in the industry have remained silent. But that has now changed as Google and Nvidia have reportedly joined Sony in voicing concern about this proposed deal.
As reported by Eurogamer (via Bloomberg), Google and Nvidia have approached the FTC to express their concerns about this deal, which, if completed, could affect the mobile gaming, cloud gaming, and subscription market. The report also stated that Nvidia wasn’t directly opposing this deal, but instead called for “equal and open access” to games, which could be hindered if Microsoft buys Activision.
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Nvidia's concern no doubt lies in its cloud gaming platform, GeForce Now, while Google is likely concerned about how Microsoft's buyout may impact mobile gaming, especially given it reportedly paid Activision $360 million not to open a rival app store.
Although, this bolsters Sony’s stance against one of its biggest rivals. It has been almost single-handedly protesting against this merger, to the extent that SIE's Jim Ryan reportedly flew to Europe to convince the EU to block this deal. Its major concern is the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation, which is still in doubt despite Microsoft's offer to keep it on the platform for ten years.
The proposed deal should've been in its final stages at this point, but it seems unlikely that it will close by June 2023 as the FTC's lawsuit against Microsoft stretches beyond August 2023. Even the UK's CMA has delayed its investigation by two months. However, Microsoft is undeterred and is not willing to settle its lawsuit with the FTC as revealed during the pre-trial hearing.
It isn't all grim for the tech giant as it has found supporters in Meta and Take-Two, who think the move is good for the industry. Even Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Chile have already approved the deal.