歐盟稱對微軟表示的不會獨佔聲明持懷疑態度將深入調查

來源：TheGamer

點擊此處查看原文>>>

歐盟委員會稱，初步調查表明，微軟通過收購動視暴雪，會損害其競爭對手的遊戲機和 PC 視頻遊戲分銷商的利益，微軟有能力以及潛在的動機，禁止競爭對手使用動視暴雪的產品，尤其是高知名度和非常成功的遊戲，例如《使命召喚》系列。

微軟之前多次聲明《使命召喚》不會成爲 Xbox 獨佔遊戲，菲爾·斯賓塞最近表示，主機獨佔的概念很快就會成爲過去，這些話遭到了多個監管機構的懷疑，歐盟似乎也同樣持懷疑態度。但菲爾·斯賓塞對完成收購非常有信心。

初步調查表明，微軟有能力與競爭對手進行止贖策略，例如阻止這些公司在主機上分銷動視暴雪的主機遊戲，或更改其使用或訪問遊戲的條款，對於通過Game Pass提供並在Windows遊戲應用程序上分發《使命召喚》，委員會對這些事很是擔憂。

目前他們已正式展開對微軟收購動視暴雪的第二階段調查，此次調查將更爲深入，爲期90天，會在2023年3月23號對該交易作出最終裁決。

After months of tepid peeks into the inner workings of the video game industry and kindly-worded surveys sent to game developers, publishers, and distributors asking how they feel about the Activision-Microsoft merger, the EU has decided it's time for a full-throated investigation into the world’s biggest games deal. "The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft under the EU Merger Regulation," the European Commission wrote in a press release. "The Commission is concerned that the proposed acquisition may reduce competition in the markets for the distribution of console and personal computers (‘PCs') video games and for PC operating systems." Related: Modern Warfare 2 Is Best When It Isn't Digging Up The Past The European Commission noted its preliminary investigation found the merger "may significantly reduce competition on the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games, including multi-game subscription services and/or cloud game streaming services, and for PC operating systems." Of particular concern has been Call of Duty, a multi-billion dollar franchise and one of the biggest names in all of video games. Microsoft has repeatedly suggested that Call of Duty will not be made an Xbox exclusive, with Phil Spencer recently suggesting that the very notion of console exclusives will soon be a thing of the past. Those words have been met with skepticism from world regulators, and it seems like the EU is equally skeptical. "The preliminary investigation suggests that Microsoft may have the ability, as well as a potential economic incentive, to engage in foreclosure strategies vis-à-vis Microsoft's rival distributors of console video games, such as preventing these companies from distributing Activision Blizzard's console video games on consoles or degrading the terms and conditions for their use of or access to these video games," the Commission wrote. It had similar concerns with respect to Call of Duty being made available through Game Pass and distributed on Windows game apps. The EU will now conduct a more thorough 90-day investigation that will ultimately determine the fate of the proposed merger between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft on March 23, 2023. The US FTC, meanwhile, is expected to make its decision later this month.