In the world of gaming, the Call of Duty developer Activision and World of WarCraft developer Blizzard are two of the biggest names in the industry. Their games are massively successful and have a vast following. The fans are inclined to go to any possible lengths to get their hands on a new Call of Duty game. That is why having the license for publishing Activision games is very crucial for consoles like Xbox and PlayStation. 

To gain the upper hand in the competition, Microsoft has decided to go over and beyond and acquire Activision in the European market. They have proposed a nearly $70 billion merger deal with Activision.

According to some fans, this deal can be very detrimental to the gaming market, and to others, it is the for the best. The internet is overwhelming with contrasting opinions about probably one of the biggest gaming deals of the year. 

How will this deal affect the rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation?

Activision is one of the biggest names among game developers around the world. Their game’s availability can be a big deal for the fans when choosing consoles. So that is why the deal between Activision and Microsoft Xbox was criticized by the fans a lot. The followers of other consoles and systems didn’t want their favorite Call of Duty series to only be limited to one system. So they didn’t shy away from criticizing the deal and being vocal about their opinions.

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Microsoft has officially filed its case for its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard with the European Commission. In a filing on Friday, European Commission announced that they will set a provisional deadline of November 8 to clear the $68.7 billion deal. 

During this period, the commission will analyze this deal with great attention. It will be the “phase I” review. The focus of this review is to decide if this merger will significantly reduce competition in the market. Or, if the creation of such a dominant company will result in increased customer prices. According to a Financial Times report this month, regulators and others involved in the Microsoft and Activision merger expect a lengthy EU probe.

How did the fans react to this?

When game journalist @BenjiSales reported this news on his Twitter, fans didn’t waste any time expressing their thoughts. The fans had very mixed reactions towards this whole deal. Some are very positive, believing this deal will open new avenues for their favorite developers. While others criticized this deal, saying that it will result in a monopoly on the market.

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What do you think about this deal? Do you support the merger? Let us know in the comments below.