Xbox boss Phil Spencer has expressed confidence in the progress Microsoft is making towards its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard – although he admits he’s in uncharted territory.
Microsoft’s planned $68.7 billion purchase from the Call of Duty publisher will be the industry’s biggest deal ever, over previous records of the $12.7 billion Take-Two and Zynga merger which was completed earlier this year.
This deal is being examined by the regulators worried about possible antitrust concerns in a period of increased concentration in gaming.
Spencer has said in an interview in an interview with Bloomberg: “I feel very satisfied with the progress we’ve made, but I’m with a positive attitude towards people who are not as involved in the gaming industry, asking tough questions that are hard to answer. is this our goal? What’s the significance of this? If you run it in five years’ time, are you restricting market growth? Are you able to grow the market?
“I’ve never done a 70 billion-dollar deal, so I don’t know what my confidence means,” he said. “I will say the discussions we’ve been having seem positive.”
This week, it was announced it was reported that Saudi Arabia has become the first authority in the world to accept Microsoft’s merger with Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft recently reiterated that it has no plans to create Call of Duty as an Xbox exclusive in the event it is able to acquire Activision Blizzard.
Spencer added to Bloomberg that Spencer expects there to become “less and less” platform-exclusive games in the future because he believes that having multiple platforms are more beneficial for the long-term growth of the industry.