Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expresses confidence in Activision deal

Despite the ongoing review by competition regulators and the launch of a second phase of investigation by the UK antitrust watchdog, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told Bloomberg in a recent interview that he believes the Activision Blizzard deal will be approved, saying: "Of course. , any acquisition of this size will be difficult to pass scrutiny, but we are very, very confident that the deal will be done.”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says he’s confident regulators will approve of the deal to buy Activision for $69 billion.

Speaking with @EmilyChangTV he says Sony, the number one player in the gaming industry, has already made several recent acquisitions https://t.co/EO9g0BHMcQ pic.twitter.com/G5EwrXbI0t

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) September 22, 2022

Nadella's comments come amid ongoing ambivalence from Sony over the deal. A week ago, Sony said that "by giving Microsoft control of Activision games like Call of Duty, this deal will have a significant negative impact on the future of gamers and the gaming industry."

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/microsoft-activision-acquisition-expected-to-face-deeper-investigations-in-uk-eu

However, Microsoft appears to be increasingly annoyed by Sony's continued protests over the acquisition, especially after PlayStation chief Jim Ryan said Microsoft's deal with Sony to keep Call of Duty on the platform for years "on many levels" are not sufficient and fail to act" considering the impact on our gamers. "

"Given its market-leading console position, it makes zero commercial sense for Microsoft to remove Call of Duty from PlayStation," Microsoft said.

Now, Nadella is facing the public, re-emphasizing Microsoft's goals, even after full approval of the acquisition deal by different regulators.

Nadella told Bloomberg: "For us in the gaming industry, we have a goal of bringing more games to more gamers on all platforms and providing more choice to publishers and developers around the world. "So everything we're doing with our content, our cloud and our community is about driving that choice and opportunity."

The CEO also said that Microsoft is "fourth, fifth, depending on how you count in the game" and that the "number one player" is Sony. He also reviewed Sony's acquisition of three other companies, hinting at why the company wanted to block the Activision deal, even though it's doing the same. "So, if it's about competition, let's compete," Nadella concluded.