Brazil’s competition regulator approves Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition

The Brazilian government has been pretty open with its investigation into Microsoft's planned Activision Blizzard acquisition. Many of the documents filed have been made publicly available, including one that detailed how other companies, like Sony, feel about the acquisition. Now, Brazil's investigation is complete, and its regulator board is happy for the deal to go through. 

This week, Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defence gave their seal of approval for the merger without any restrictions on the deal. In special cases, regulators can permit an acquisition under certain rules to maintain competitive integrity in the market. In this case, Brazil's regulators feel that Call of Duty exclusivity could be a double-edged sword.

In the very lengthy summary document detailing the decision, we see some interesting quotes. In one portion, it is pointed out that while making Call of Duty exclusive could move players over to Xbox or PC, it is also possible that many PlayStation owners would abandon Call of Duty.

Another portion of the document specifically notes that Nintendo manages to compete in the market perfectly well without access to Call of Duty. It is also noted that exclusive games are also important for competition in the console space and that Sony has been a leader in this area for more than two decades.

Of course, Brazil's regulator isn't the only voice that needs to weigh in on this subject. Currently, the UK's CMA, the US FTC and the EU Commission are all investigating the deal and concerns have been raised, particularly around Call of Duty. Each investigation is on its own timeline, so we are supposed to hear about the FTC's decision in November, barring any extensions. The UK and EU are both aiming to have their investigations concluded in 2023.

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KitGuru Says: The deal now has a couple of approvals but there is still a long way to go before Microsoft can go through with the merger. 

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