Chile has approved the acquisition of Microsoft Activision-Blizzard

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Chile has approved the acquisition of Microsoft Activision-Blizzard. Another country has approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as Chile believes the deal will not harm the local gaming market.

The Fiscalia Nacional Economica, Chile's market regulator, announced its approval of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This hugely controversial deal has been one of the year's biggest gaming news items, with Microsoft announcing its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard at the beginning of the year and facing a slew of legal challenges ever since.

Microsoft needs the approval of 16 countries to acquire Activision Blizzard. These countries will review the deal and determine whether it risks creating an antitrust situation in which Microsoft has an unfair competitive advantage over its competitors. While Serbia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia have already approved the $69 billion deal, other antitrust agencies are still reviewing it and have not yet made a decision.

The Fiscalia Nacional Economica (FNE) of Chile announced its decision to approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard on December 29, 2022. Despite the merger generating horizontal and vertical overlaps because Microsoft is a major publisher and Activision Blizzard is one of the largest video game developers, the organization explained that the deal does not threaten the balance of the gaming market and will not create an unfair situation for Microsoft's competitors in Chile.

The FNE gathered various data and conducted a consumer survey among Chilean gamers to determine whether or not to approve the Microsoft Activision Blizzard acquisition. The organization conducted two analyses: one horizontal to determine whether the acquisition would prevent other developers from competing with this new entity, and one vertical to determine whether Microsoft could prevent other platforms from offering Activision Blizzard-developed games.

The FNE determined in its ruling that the Microsoft Activision Blizzard deal would not jeopardize the overall balance of Chile's video game industry. Even if Microsoft decides to make Call of Duty an Xbox exclusive, Chilean players will be able to play first-person shooters from Electronic Arts, Take Two, Ubisoft, and Epic Games. Furthermore, Chile's market regulatory institution determined that Call of Duty is not as relevant for the Latin American region as it is for the rest of the world, citing a consumer survey that revealed Chilean players would rather switch to a different game than change their preferred gaming platform.

Overall, the FNE stated that the local player base wouldn't be adversely affected by the acquisition because Activision Blizzard games weren't the most well-liked ones among Chilean players. As a result, Chile joined Serbia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia on the list of nations that approved Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard is still being sued by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States, so Microsoft's acquisition of the company isn't any closer.

Source: Fiscalia Nacional Economica, Gamerant