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Phil Spencer: "Xbox will exist" if Activision Blizzard acquisition is blocked

The head honcho of Microsoft's gaming division has spoken again about the planned $69 billion deal.

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It is crunch time for Microsoft. After announcing the intent to buy Activision Blizzard for a heart-stopping $68.7 billion, the massive tech company is nearing the period of time when it was expecting to have the deal completed. Various trade bodies around the world are still intent in stopping, blocking, or slowing this process however, and as of late, Xbox head honcho, Phil Spencer has been in the UK, engaged in talks with the country's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in order to get everything sorted and ironed out.

In the spirit of this, Spencer recently sat down with The Times to talk about the deal, where he was asked about what would happen if the acquisition was ultimately blocked.

"This is an important acquisition for us," said Spencer. "It's not some linchpin to the long term - Xbox will exist if this deal doesn't go through."

Spencer later touched on the decisions to block the deal, adding:

"Competition is us trying to get stronger. I don't have great rationale for ... how better competition in consoles is somehow hurtful for consumers.

"Because to me, having us, Sony, and Nintendo doing well in the console market — all of us with strengths and uniqueness and content and capabilities — gives consumers more choice.

"I'd hate to see consoles go to where phones are where there are only two manufacturers. And, right now, we have three good competitors."

With the deal originally expected to be accepted or denied by summer 2023, what do you think will happen as we near that period of time?

Phil Spencer: "Xbox will exist" if Activision Blizzard acquisition is blocked


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