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Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard
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this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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That's more on the money than you think. Microsoft mostly won because the FTC didn't clamp down on Sony being anticompetitive which "forced" Microsoft to make these acquisitions. This situation is bad, but the alternative with Sony exclusivity deals all over the place was worse.
No I think this is worse. It's not a deal. These are all first party studios now essentially, through nothing but the purchasing power of a trillion dollar company. They will and can be as locked as Microsoft prefers.
There were 360 deals before PS4/PS5 deals. There were Xbox One deals even during Sony dominance, like Tomb Raider. Sony is just one player, but the others are not angels.
Nothing here stops those deals from continuing.
What has happened is that the second or third largest third party publisher's studios and "IP" now belong to a first party publisher.
And I predict more acquisitions, and thus consolidation, will come from Sony.