European Commission dismisses claims of bias in Microsoft investigation

Competition regulator issues a statement denying claims of bias towards PlayStation after a staff post on Twitter riled up gamers

The European Commission has issued a new statement dismissing claims of bias in its investigation of an attempted $100b acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft.

The Deputy Head of Unit Interinstitutional & Outreach at the European Commission, Ricardo Cardoso, posted a tweet last week that caused a bit of a stir among gamers, stating that “the Commission is working to ensure that you will still be able to play Call of Duty on other consoles (including my Playstation)”.

Gamers were quick to accuse Cardoso and the Commission of bias, with many in the replies suggesting that there was a “conflict of interest” and that the Commission was “on Sony’s side”. The regulator is currently in the midst of an investigation into the proposed acquisition, which will be the biggest in video game history.

In a follow-up tweet on Saturday, Cardoso clarified that he is not involved in the assessment of the merger, and doesn’t work in the department that handles mergers and acquisitions. He went on to say that his comments were a personal position, not a position taken by the Commission itself, which he says will be basing its decisions about the merger “on the basis of the facts and the law”.

One of Activision Blizzard’s largest properties that would be acquired by Microsoft in the deal is World of Warcraft. Picture: Blizzard

In a statement provided to TweakTown, European Commission spokesperson Adriana Podesta confirmed that Cardoso was speaking in a personal capacity when he tweeted, and that he is not involved in the assessment of the proposed merger.

“Mr Cardoso works in the Director General for the Internal Market and not in the Directorate General for Competition. Mr Cardoso is not involved in the assessment of this transaction. Furthermore, as indicated clearly in his Twitter profile, he tweets in a personal capacity.”

The $100b Microsoft deal is facing an in-depth investigation by the European Commission, who has recently entered phase 2 of its investigation. In its announcement of the second phase investigation, the Commission noted that Microsoft may have a “potential economic incentive” to lock competitors out from Activision Blizzard’s successful games, such as Call of Duty.

PlayStation manufacturer Sony has been opposed to the proposed deal, and it was recently revealed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II broke PlayStation sales records. The company has argued to Brazilian competition regulators that Call of Duty is “an essential game” for players on its consoles, and that games such as Call of Duty have a big influence on users’ console buying decisions.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.