UCL School of Management Associate Professor Joost Rietveld has featured in a number of major media outlets in recent weeks to share his expert opinion on the future of Microsoft’s attempted takeover of Activision Blizzard. Appearing in The Financial Times and Bloomberg, Joost, an expert in platforms and gaming, has discussed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent decision to take legal action against Microsoft.

In January 2022, Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision for almost $69 billion USD. This figure would make the acquisition the largest in the history of the video gaming industry. However, the proposed plan has faced significant hurdles in recent months, with a number of the UK’s regulatory bodies rejecting the plans amid antitrust concerns. The FTC also recently announced its decision to sue Microsoft in an attempt to block the proposed acquisition due to concerns that it will impact competition within the gaming industry.

Explaining this decision, the FTC points to the unfair advantage that it would give Microsoft in the new market for game subscriptions. In a recent discussion with The Financial Times, Joost argues that this will prove to be a stronger argument for the FTC than that of exclusivity. “It puts them in a position to be dominant in that segment”, he said.

In addition to regulatory bodies, tech giant Sony has also been a staunch opponent of Microsoft’s attempted Activision takeover out of fears that it will diminish competiiton within the gaming industry, as well as lessen cloud gaming and subscriptions. There is also an additional fear that the deal will encourage gamers to turn to Xbox as opposed to Playstation for games such as Call of Duty. Featuring recently in an article by Bloomberg, Joost acknowldges that “if Sony is doubling down on its PlayStation business, that’s potentially very problematic”.

Learn more about Joost’s views on Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision via the Financial Times and Bloomberg.