From appeals, to agreements with other regulatory bodies and the appearance of titles on Xbox Game Pass. Here we tell you what the next events will be in the purchase and what could happen once it is completed.
The purchase of Activision Blizzard still has a brake on the part of the FTC
One of the first considerations is that it appears that the fight against the FTC is not over yet. Since on July 12 they decided to appeal the determination of Judge Jacqueline Corley. If the legal system of the United States determines that there are grounds for this appeal by Friday the 14th, then the trial could start again.
The FTC’s reason for appealing is that, according to them, the judge would have violated some rules of conduct. They assure that he should have walked away from the trial because his son is a Microsoft employee, so the fall in the purchase of Activision could affect him. Which would represent a conflict of interest.
For now it only remains to wait to see if the appeal will take place. If this proceeds, then Microsoft and Activision Blizzard would not be able to complete the purchase, which was planned for July 18. This would still have a chance of putting an end to the merger.
The date of July 18 was the one that both companies set as the limit to finalize the purchase. If by then it has not been closed, there are two paths that will follow. The first would be that Activision refuses to continue with it. The second is that both parties reach an agreement to create an extension and give a new date. Now everything will depend on whether the appeal proceeds or not.
What happened to the CMA, the UK regulatory body?
A few months ago the CMA decided to oppose Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard. His reasons were more directed towards the control that Microsoft could have over cloud gaming. However, the creators of Xbox appealed the decision and will have a trial on July 28.
Interestingly, the initial win over the FTC caused the CMA to open up early negotiations with Microsoft. In other words, there remains the possibility that they will not wait until July 28 to reach a new conclusion on the purchase.
In any case, Microsoft would already have some alternate plans to buy Activision Blizzard despite the CMA’s denial. Of course, this would imply leaving out the creators of Call of Duty in that territory, which would be quite complicated. So it is in the interest of both parties to resolve their debate in the best possible way. Again, what remains is to wait and see what decisions they make.
Will we have Activision Blizzard games on Game Pass once the purchase is complete?
One of Microsoft’s main goals in buying Activision Blizzard was to expand its Xbox Game Pass catalog. Therefore, it is quite likely that once it is completed, we will begin to see the titles of this company in the subscription service.
sagas like Devil, crash bandicoot, Spyro and Tony Hawk they might have an appearance. Unfortunately, those who want Call of Duty on this service will have to wait a while. Since due to several pre-existing agreements, none of its deliveries could reach Game Pass until 2025.
Even though one of Activision’s biggest titles won’t be on Game Pass for a few years, something funny is going on. Several players report that the servers of some COD installments for Xbox 360 are coming back to life. Perhaps Microsoft won’t add them to its service for now, but it will allow gamers to enjoy its online components again.
What games could we expect for the future of this union?
Activision Blizzard owns several successful sagas such as Devil, call of duty, world of warcraft, Overwatch and crash bandicootto mention a few. So Microsoft could easily start producing a new title for any of them. Or take advantage of the talents of this developer to create some new successful IP.
Perhaps the ‘bad side’ is that we probably won’t see a new Microsoft game with Activision for a few years. Mainly because video games are getting longer development times. Of course, in the meantime they could announce what they have planned to get us excited about what’s to come in the coming years.
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