Microsoft is planning to use Activision Blizzard’s catalog of popular mobile games to compete with the likes of Apple and Google, according to its ongoing dialogue with the British Competition and Markets Authority.
As reported by The Verge, part of Microsoft’s filing with the CMA reveals that the Xbox maker is interested in developing its own mobile game store similar to Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store. In the filing, Microsoft explains, “Building on Activision Blizzard’s existing communities of gamers, Xbox will seek to scale the Xbox Store to mobile, attracting gamers to a new Xbox Mobile Platform.” The company goes on to say that it knows that completing with Apple and Google will be difficult, but it plans to rely on Activision Blizzard’s well-known mobile games to court players.
Mobile games already bring in a lot of money for Activision Blizzard, and Microsoft is well aware of that. In its filing, it downplayed the importance of console gaming and emphasized the potential for competition with Apple and Google that acquiring Activision Blizzard would create: “Mobile gaming revenues from the King division and titles such as Call of Duty: Mobile, as well as ancillary revenue, represented more than half of Activision Blizzard’s … revenues in the first half of 2022. Mobile customers account for around three-quarters of its MAU [monthly active users].”
When the deal was first announced in January, Microsoft clearly stated its intent to add many of the titles from Activision Blizzard’s enormous catalog of games to its Xbox Game Pass system. It appears as though making an entrance into mobile using more of the storied developer’s successful games is an equally large goal for Microsoft. The company reportedly aims to offer a more open platform than Apple by allowing developers to manage their own mini app stores and payment systems under its umbrella, according to The Verge.
The CMA is still in the process of investigating the acquisition and has announced its intent to conduct a second more thorough investigation into the nature of the deal and how it could affect competition worldwide. It remains to be seen whether the deal will be approved and under what stipulations.
