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The judge in Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard from the FTC ruled in favor of the antitrust authority on the cloud gaming issue, which could be grounds for a denial of the deal.
How? During one of the latest exchanges at yesterday’s hearing, Microsoft said the future of cloud gaming is uncertain, but an FTC attorney argued that the market is moving in that direction. The judge agreed with the FTC, stating that in the future, the development of cloud technologies is possible, which can become the central technology for the gaming world.
This point should be clear to those who have followed the acquisition up to this point, as cloud gaming was the very hub through which the CMA, the UK competition authority, justified its withdrawal from the deal. If a US judge follows the same line, it could be the end for Microsoft.
Another possibility is that the line of the European Commission will be continued, ie. the judge will impose a number of restrictions on Microsoft and still make a positive decision on the acquisition.
At the moment the situation is very uncertain, and nothing can be taken for granted, given the precedents. We will see what will be determined in the decision when it is delivered.
